Sanders Campaign Press Release - Strong Support for Sanders in Wisconsin

BURLINGTON, Vt. — A straw poll at the Wisconsin Democratic Party convention in Milwaukee over the weekend gave Sanders the backing of 41 percent of the delegates. The strong showing put Sanders close to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 49 percent.

"The Wisconsin straw poll and huge turnouts at town meetings in New Hampshire and Iowa are sending a message that people care about real issues like income inequality and the collapse of the American middle class," said Jeff Weaver, the manager of Sanders' campaign for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

"Wow!" was the one-word tweet from Sanders' senior adviser Tad Devine when the straw poll results were announced by wispolitics.com.

Madison-based journalist John Nichols called the straw poll "another sign of unexpected and significant support" for Sanders. He wrote for The Nation that Sanders' most important support in the state comes from organized labor.