Democratic candidate, Bernie Sanders, holds rally in Phoenix

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Michael Russell

Bernie Sanders rally, Phoenix Arizona, Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Michael Russell, Reporter

Democratic presidential hopeful, Bernie Sanders, held a rally in Phoenix on Thursday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Coliseum, with a capacity of 15,000, was about two-thirds full.

A crowd of over 10,000 people were there to see Sanders.

Waiting in line before the event was eventful to the waiting crowd that noticed a helicopter circling above with TRUMP emblazoned on it.

President Trump held a rally at the Coliseum on February 19.

Dozens of volunteers and candidates were canvassing the crowd for signatures.

Around 7 p.m. Sanders took the stage.

His loudest cheers were when he railed against Trump.

Sanders also contrasted his Senate voting record against Joe Biden’s, noting Biden voted for the Iraq war, for the Wall Street bailout and against gay marriage.

Sanders pointed out that he has a much stronger and consistent voting record on women’s issues.

Sanders also noted that numerous billionaires fund Biden’s campaign while he is supported by millions of small donations averaging under twenty dollars.

Late in Sanders speech, a protester was arrested trying to unfurl a banner from the upper deck.

Sanders spoke for about an hour without the use of a teleprompter, displaying a passionate knowledge of the issues to a constantly cheering crowd.

Northeast Valley News spoke to rally attendee and 2016 Sanders delegate to the Democratic Convention, Hazel Chandler.

“I have supported Bernie Sanders since 2015,” said Chandler. “I am most closely aligned on the issues with Bernie.”

“One of the major reasons is, he is very supportive on climate change. Sanders pushed so hard to get a strong climate change platform” the supporter said, referencing the 2016 Democratic convention in Philadelphia.

In addition to being a Sanders delegate, Chandler helps run eldersclimateaction.org whose goal is to preserve the planet for future generations.

Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden face off in the next Democratic debate here in Phoenix on March 15th.

The Arizona Democratic primary follows on March 17th.