'Run Bernie Run': Grassroots Coalition Holding Weekend of Action to Make Case for Sanders 2020

As a growing number of Democratic contenders announce their 2020 presidential campaigns, a coalition of grassroots groups hoping Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will also run are not waiting for an official declaration as they expand their organizing efforts and continue to make the case for why the senator would be the best candidate.

Organizing for Bernie has partnered with Our Revolution, Progressive Democrats of America, and The People for Bernie Sanders to plan a national "Weekend of Action" for Jan. 26–27.

The coalition has put together an interactive map for those interested in hosting or attending an event as well as a canvassing guide (pdf) that details Sanders' key policies and how to encourage supporters to sign a petition urging him to run for president.

"It's up to us to organize in our community and invite people into this movement for Medicare for All, tuition-free college, abolish ICE, end mass incarceration, end prohibition, and pass cannabis legalization.
—Kat Brezler, The People for Bernie Sanders

"It's up to us to organize in our community and invite people into this movement for Medicare for All, tuition-free college, abolish ICE, end mass incarceration, end prohibition, and pass cannabis legalization," Kat Brezler, co-founder of The People for Bernie Sanders, said in a statement. "We can have a future to believe in but it's incumbent on us to bring the momentum to this campaign. We are the campaign."

Dulce Anayasaenz, co-founder of Organizing for Bernie, said: "I'm eager to talk to people in my community next weekend about the important role we have this year. The 2020 election will be a platform for bold leaders to offer an alternative to the current administration and an opportunity for us as voters to vote for candidates that we believe are most aligned with our values and vision for America."

"Sen. Sanders is the people's champion we need in the White House," Anayasaenz added, "and I'm ready to discuss that with my friends, neighbors, and new people I meet."

The pool of Democrats considering or officially seeking the party's nomination for 2020 is rapidly growing, and so far includes Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) and Kamala Harris (Calif.), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), and former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro.

While lesser known, multi-millionaire John Delaney, a former congressman from Maryland, as well as Richard Ojeda, a state senator from West Virginia, are also running.

Many Sanders supporters, however, believe that "because of his experience and commitment to the common good, he is the most qualified candidate," as labor leader RoseAnn DeMoro argued in a recent op-ed for Common Dreams. "Just imagine what it looks like if Bernie wins. A warrior backing such fine and necessary policies would be a seismic shift for our lives, this nation, and the world."

Sanders was in Columbia, South Carolina on Monday to speak at the annual King Day at the Dome rally and a town hall hosted by the NAACP's state chapter.

Honoring the civil rights activist's "incredible courage" and "revolutionary spirit," the senator declared in a pair of tweets that "Dr. King's vision of ending the triple evils of racism, economic injustice, and war is as important today as it was when Dr. King fought for those principles, and must motivate us in all of our work."