'I need you after I am president': Bernie Sanders to Asheville during 2020 election rally

ASHEVILLE - In 2016, Bernie Sanders was Western North Carolina’s Democratic presidential favorite despite not setting foot in the mountains.

Nearly three years later, Sanders is trying to coax all the support he can from this part of the state as he tries to overcome a widely favored primary opponent. On May 17, he made the first stop of any candidate in WNC, speaking to an overflow crowd of about 2,100 at Salvage Station, a hip outdoor venue in the city's River Arts District yards from the French Broad River.

"I was told coming to North Carolina wouldn’t make much sense because it was a Republican state. Doesn’t look like that today," he told attendees who came by car, foot and bike.

More on the Bernie Sanders rally: 

• Sanders calls out abortion laws as 'grotesque'
• Which presidential candidates have visited Asheville, and when?
• Sanders: NC schools are segregated by race, income

 'Radical' ideas are now mainstream

Asheville resident Toni Henderson wanted to hear Sanders because “he’s not an establishment Democrat, he’s anti-racism, he believes black lives matter, and he’s not bought by big banks."

Henderson and others stood for hours in the hot humid afternoon to listen as the Vermont senator preached a progressive agenda he said was once derided but is now embraced by Democrats running for every office from "dogcatcher to president of the United States."

"Issues that once seemed radical and extreme are now the ideas the American people support," Sanders said.

Those were universal health care, a $15 minimum wage, criminal justice reform and fighting climate change, and he still are, he said.

Sanders: People must demand change

And there was more, he said, ranging from immigration reform to guaranteed jobs for all. Sanders also touched on current events, pushing back on state anti-abortion laws and aggressive posturing toward Iran, which unchecked he warned could lead to "perpetual war."

But Sanders said not even an honest and well-intentioned president could enact those policies without continuous support by the people.

"The reasons for that is the powers that be in the establishment today have so much money and so much influence that the only way we make the change we need is not just by having a good president, it’s by millions of people standing up, fighting back and demanding that change."

He also said he had words for people not at the rally: voters who swung North Carolina for Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Sanders said he understood why they voted for Trump because they "felt ignored" when it came to problems with health care, loss of jobs and the ability to send their children to college.

But Trump who made promises to fix those things is a "pathological liar," Sanders said,

"He lied to you during the campaign," he said, by actually taking steps back on health care and passing a tax cut that favored the wealthy.

What Asheville supporters said

In 2016 the self-described democratic socialist changed the Democratic Party with a second-place bid from the left for the party's nomination.

Though he didn't visit WNC, he won the majority of mountain counties. His greatest margin of victory in the state was in Buncombe County where he beat Clinton by 13,448 votes.

He is trying to hack away at the lead of former Vice President Joe Biden whom polls show is favored by 39.1 percent of respondents, according to Real Clear Politics. That compares to Sanders' 16.4 percent. 

Before taking the podium, Sanders held a "pre-rally" for the overflow crowd in the parking lot. On stage a local band played through funk and rock riffs. Warm-up speakers included Sanders' campaign co-chair, former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, who said Sanders "had receipts" for decades of progressive work.

Former City Council member and longtime Sanders supporter Cecil Bothwell said Asheville "showed up" for important causes such as Sander's candidacy.

Blue Dream Curry House owner James Sutherland said he was proud to pay his workers a living wage, but they needed public transportation options, something Sanders would champion.

Also speaking were environmental activist Ashley McDermott with Sunrise Movement Asheville and Krista Rowan, who said Sanders asked her only just before the rally to talk about her single mother who worked 12-hour days but couldn't afford medicine and basic household needs.

Looking for Sanders to unite people

After the rally, college student Haydyn Foulke, 19, said she drove two hours from Emory, Virginia, because of Sanders' proposal to eliminate college debt and his inclusiveness. 

“I like that his strategy is to unite people based on our values and taking care of each other, as opposed to hatred and division,” Foulke said.

Asheville resident Kristi Mapes, in her 50s, operates equipment for the city but spent 18 years as a social worker.

“I’m all about Bernie,” Mapes said. “Even in 2016, I thought he was going to be the last hope for us and it’s doubly important now.”

“I think the Medicare for all is up on the top rung, but I also think getting a handle on education in this country is really important,” she said. “And election reform is sorely needed. Everything he talks about, actually, is very important.”

Asked if she planned to vote for Sanders, Mapes didn’t hesitate. “Oh, absolutely.”