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Contrasting Campaign Events in Fort Madison

Jason Parrott
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TSPR
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (L) and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders campaigning in Fort Madison this month

Presidential candidates are starting to make their way to Lee County, Ia., with both U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), seeking the Democratic nomination, and former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR) visiting Fort Madison in the last week.

Based on their stops in the state, the two candidates are taking dramatically different approaches to winning the Iowa Caucuses on Feb. 1st.

Credit Jason Parrott / TSPR
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TSPR
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) addressing the crowd in Fort Madison.

Sanders' event, held at Richardson Elementary on Sunday at 7:00 P.M., felt like a rock concert. There were at least 300 people packed into the gym with more than a hundred others in a nearby room.

People of all ages, egged on by two young campaign volunteers up front, cheered, clapped and screamed their support for Sanders as music roared. When the candidate took to the stage, he told the crowd that the American people are hungry for a political revolution.

"It turns out that the American people are a lot more angry and frustrated with the status quo than all of the pundits thought," Sanders bellowed. "It turns out that the American people want to see some profound changes with our economy and with the way we do politics in America. And it turns out that millions of Americans do want to see a political revolution, which is what this campaign is about!"

By contrast, Huckabee hosted a far mellower and more intimate town hall meeting in a local coffee shop at 7:45 A.M.

Oct15HuckabeeFortMadison.mp3
The Huckabee Radio Story

Credit Jason Parrott / TSPR
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TSPR
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) makes a point during a stop in Fort Madison.

The former Governor's supporters were significantly older, but no less enthusiastic when he spoke about his plans for the future. Huckabee, who won the 2008 GOP caucus in Iowa, said it comes down to looking people in the eye and telling them what you are going to do.

"You can't just go to some nice, swell, $30,000/plate dinner in Manhattan and win Iowa," Huckabee said. "You have to come meet people and answer their questions. I think our country would be poorly served if our President never came out to small towns in this country to listen to people." 

Sanders and Huckabee each spoke for about 45 minutes before taking questions from the audience. After their stump speeches, the candidates worked the crowd with Sanders posing for photos and signing autographs, while Huckabee shook hands with almost everyone in attendance and chatted with folks on the street.

Jason Parrott is a former reporter at Tri States Public Radio.