Sanders Campaign Press Release - Momentum Swings to Sanders

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Telling a packed convention center crowd here on Wednesday that "we are gaining momentum," Bernie Sanders cited huge turnouts at his rallies and three new national polls putting him ahead of Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Party presidential nomination contest.

"We started this campaign 9 1/2 months ago and we were at 3 percent. In the last week there have been three national polls that have us in the lead," Sanders told the crowd of some 7,100 supporters who came out for the weekday afternoon rally. "We are gaining momentum every single day."

A Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll released on Wednesday put Sanders ahead by six points, 42 percent to 36 percent. It was the latest voter survey showing the race taking a turn in Sanders' favor. Within the past week, a Fox News poll had the U.S. senator from Vermont overtaking the former secretary of state 47 percent to 44 percent. A McLaughlin & Associates poll on Feb. 17 had Sanders edging Clinton 42.6 percent to 42.5 percent.

"The reason we have so much momentum, the reason we are doing so well, is that … the American people in Kansas, in Missouri and all over this country are sick and tired of establishment politics," Sanders told the crowd at the Kansas City Convention Center. "And they know that Washington is too busy representing the interests of wealthy campaign contributors to worry about the middle class."

Sanders' fast-growing national appeal also is reflected in state polls. For example, he's up by 7 points in a Public Policy Polling survey in Massachusetts, where Sanders leads 49 percent to 42 percent. In Vermont, where Sanders will watch returns from his hometown next Tuesday, Sanders was ahead 86 percent to 10 percent.

"In state after state ... the gap is narrowing or we are now forging ahead," Sanders told the Kansas City crowd. "If we stand together we can win this nomination."