Minnesota Sanders backer: ‘Bernie was my guy’
Philadelphia -- I first met Heather Adams in January as she knocked on doors across parts of frozen Iowa for Bernie Sanders. She was crunching her way through snow and ice in Mason City. It was so cold, it was hard for her to even jot down notes of who was a supporter and who was undecided.
Adams, though, was undeterred.
“I think it’s worth it because I think Bernie Sanders is right for our country," she said then. “He wants everybody to have health care and free college and he wants to get the corporate money out of politics. I don’t think that corporations should be running our country.”
Adams is in a much warmer place this week as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
The 39-year-old middle school teacher from the Twin Cities said it hurt when Sanders endorsed Clinton. But she wasn't crushed, and she said she feels the revolution Sanders started is alive and will live on in other races.
“I feel good to be here. I’m excited," she said of the Philadelphia convention. "The message seems to be party unity. But I don’t think they’re forcing us to support Hillary. I think that they understand that we need a little time.”
Back in January, Sanders was surging and Hillary Clinton's lead in the polls was vanishing. Sanders' rallies would get even bigger after his neck-and-neck finish with Clinton in the Iowa caucuses. A month after Iowa, Sanders handily defeated Clinton in the Minnesota caucuses.
But he just couldn't catch Clinton in the delegate count.
The concerns Adams voiced bout Clinton in the Iowa winter still linger in the Philadelphia summer.
“It’s the money," she said. "Bernie didn't take any corporate donations. He took small donations from people like me. And she just had the events with the big money behind her, and I couldn't connect to that.”
Adams says even if she comes around and decides to vote for Clinton, that’s about all she’ll do for the former first lady, senator and secretary of state.
“Bernie was my guy. He was my candidate. I put all of my heart and soul into that, and I just can’t envision doing the same for her.”