One year into his campaign, a look at Sanders’s ascent in the polls

Saturday marks one year since Sen. Bernie Sanders entered the Democratic presidential primary, in what was widely considered a longshot campaign with little chance of doing anything more than pushing front-runner Hillary Clinton to the left.

His insurgent campaign has accomplished that and more in the year that he’s been in the race, rising from single digits in the polls to posing a serious threat to Clinton, who has long been considered the favorite to win the nomination, and also making history as the first Jewish candidate to win a primary.

Though his chances at winning the nomination may have slipped away in recent weeks, there is no doubt that he has had a real impact on the race.

The Hill took a look back at his remarkable rise through the polls over the last year, using RealClearPolitics tracking of the average of presidential polls.

April 30, 2015

“I am writing to inform you that I will be a candidate for president of the United States. I ask for your support,” Sanders announced in an email to supporters. The independent senator was little known outside of his home state of Vermont, which was clearly reflected in polls at the time.

Sanders registered just 5.6 percent support, while Clinton already seemed like the presumptive nominee with about 62 percent.

July 2015

Sanders had inched his way into double digits in the polls as his platform of railing against inequality gained wider attention.

Perhaps the first sign that the campaign was drawing serious support came in early July, when Sanders had to relocate a planned rally in Phoenix to accommodate a surge in expected attendees.

Sanders held his biggest rally yet on the 18th, drawing a crowd of over 10,000 to the Phoenix Convention Center, where he spoke out against the “billionaire class” that he believes his dominating the political process.

November 2015

Sanders shot up to 32.5 percent on Nov. 4, in between the first two Democratic debates.

Clinton was still leading by over 20 points and seemed to dominate in the early debates. Still, Sanders’s message was clearly resonating with younger voters and had emerged as the sole alternative to the former secretary of State.

January 2016

On Jan. 12, Sanders came within single digits of Clinton in national polls for the first time in the campaign, trailing her 39.7 percent to 48.3.

He had also announced record-breaking fundraising figures for the latter half of 2015, raking in a remarkable $33.5 million, at a rate that would be repeatedly surpassed in the months to follow.

February 2016

The beginning of the month brought both symbolic and real victories for Sanders, who came within a hair of winning the Iowa caucus and ran away with the New Hampshire primary.

And on the 18th, Sanders came within 6 points of the front-runner with 42 percent support, compared with 47.6 for Clinton.

April 2016

Sanders racked up seven straight primary wins in late March and early April and continued his unprecedented fundraising dominance. On the 11th, Sanders came within 1 point of Clinton in national polls and has been in a statistical tie with her ever since.

Still, it has become increasingly apparent that his failure to win over minority voters in Southern states and Clinton’s success rounding up superdelegates has put her within reach of the nomination. 

Sanders is now looking ahead to Tuesday’s Indiana primary, where polls show Clinton up by about 6 points.