Former Sanders Delegates to Mobilize Behind 2020 Presidential Campaign

Former Bernie Sanders delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention are gearing up to actively support him for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

The independent Bernie Delegates Network -- which has voted 408 "yes" to 23 "no" in response to the question "Do you favor a relaunch of the independent Bernie Delegates Network in 2019?" -- will enthusiastically support Sanders' campaign in every region of the country.

"This winter we surveyed former Bernie delegates nationwide and found three out of four are in support of his running while only 5 percent are opposed," said Norman Solomon, who was national coordinator of the Bernie Delegates Network in 2016 and is now one of the relaunched network's coordinators. "The current enthusiasm for Bernie is huge. The progressive base that he energized several years ago is largely committed to his upcoming run for president. Former delegates have shown that they know how to organize and gain support in the communities where they live. Our network will help to mobilize those capacities in support of Bernie's new campaign."

Solomon is the national coordinator of RootsAction.org, an online group that currently has an email list of 1.25 million active supporters in the United States.

The two organizations that sponsored the Bernie Delegates Network in 2016 -- Progressive Democrats of America and RootsAction.org -- are also sponsoring the relaunched network.

" Progressive Democrats of America was the first national organization to call upon Bernie Sanders to run for president back in 2014," PDA's executive director Alan Minsky said today. "And following his transformative campaign in 2016, we have called on him to run again. Thus, we are thrilled at the prospect of him entering the race. As a progressive, it is heartening to see so many other candidates voice support for Senator Sanders' policies; however, I've been around the block enough times to know that politicians who adopt positions in tune with the fashion of the moment are not as trustworthy as those rare few, like Bernie Sanders, who have held firm to a powerful social justice vision through his entire long career. If you want the progressive changes that American society so clearly needs, Bernie Sanders is your candidate."

Pia Gallegos, former chair of the Adelante Progressive Caucus of the New Mexico Democratic Party, said today: "Bernie Sanders remains the leader with the most authentic progressive appeal among the hopefuls for the Democratic nomination. Bernie's competitors lack his track record on economic security for all American workers, Medicare for All, free public college education, taxing the rich and opposing bloated military budgets. Those are long-standing positions that -- more than ever -- resonate with grassroots activists and voters. Other Democratic presidential candidates will try to imitate this populist agenda, but only Bernie can speak with the vision, clarity and moral authority that the Democratic Party's presidential candidate needs to defeat the incumbent."