Hanover
“How many people here have student debt?” the progressive Vermonter asked the roughly 425 people gathered in Alumni Hall.
A few dozen people raised their hands high, and were quickly met with a follow-up question.
“What interest rates are you paying?”
Some shouted rates between 5 and 8 percent, a response that seemed to surprise Sanders.
“Often there are people who pay 10, 12 (percent). But right now, you can go out and buy a new car with an interest rate of 1 or 2 percent,” Sanders said. “People should not be paying 6, 8, 10 percent interest rates.”
Tuesday’s rally wasn’t the first time Sanders spoke to a crowd about lowering student debt and making college affordable — they were central themes in his presidential campaign.
And student-centered topics are making a resurgence as the Clinton campaign tries to lock in young voters ahead of next week’s presidential election.
Sanders, who garnered the votes of a majority of millennials in the primary, is back on the campaign trail stumping for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. He visited Plymouth State University and Dartmouth College on Tuesday as part of what will become a 12-state run through many college towns before election day.
At the podium, Sanders was in typical form, railing against wealthy campaign donors and advocating for paid family leave, universal health care, a living wage and increased taxes on the rich. The term “rigged economy” also made a comeback when he spoke of wealth inequality.
“We had eight years of trickle-down economics under George W. Bush. We are not going back to that disastrous economic culture,” he said, to cheers from the crowd.
During his visit, Sanders explicitly reached out to Dartmouth students, mentioning programs many enrolled in the college’s medical school would recognize, such as the National Health Service Corps, which offers loan repayments and scholarships to medical, dental and nursing students working to assist under-served populations.
“I think we have to expand that concept,” he said. “This country today is in desperate need of good teachers, child care workers, people who go into law enforcement. We need to forgive the debt of those people who are willing to get into public service.”
Democrats are hoping Hanover and other New Hampshire college towns can contribute to a win in the Granite State next week. The roughly 6,000 students who attend the Ivy League school traditionally bolster the town’s left-leaning voting history.
At Tuesday’s rally, Democrats running on down-ballot races championed messages similar to Sanders’, hammering home the idea that every contest, not just the presidential race, matters this election year.
Both New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, who is running for U.S. Senate against current Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte, and U.S. incumbent Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., attempted to drum up support.
“I want you all to visualize. Visualize going to the polls. Think about what time you’re going to go,” Kuster told the crowd, urging students to think about their schedules ahead of time. “Make sure that not only you go to the polls, but all of your friends, your roommates, your teammates, the folks in your Greek house, the folks in your organization. … You make sure that everybody goes to the polls.”
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump also has tried to reach out to Sanders supporters in speeches, mostly by denouncing Clinton’s win in the primary as being stolen from the progressive.
In a statement addressing Sanders’ trip to New Hampshire, the Trump campaign made similar claims.
“Our campaign empathizes with Bernie Sanders supporters. Hillary Clinton cheated him out of the Democratic nomination by obtaining questions prior to debates and coordinated with the Democratic National Committee to provide her with preferential treatment,” wrote Mike Biundo, a Manchester-based senior advisor to the Trump campaign.
Students at Dartmouth are much more likely to vote for Clinton, though, according to an unscientific online poll conducted by The Dartmouth, which found 76 percent of respondents support the former secretary of state. But to make the most of that sentiment, Democrats will need students to show up on election day.
Of the 700 people who have registered to vote in Hanover since Sept. 13, about 60 percent were Dartmouth students, according to Town Clerk Betsy McClain.
Overall, she expects 10,400 voters to be registered by Election Day, about 20 percent more than were registered four years ago — although it’s important to note that the town’s voter checklist was purged in 2011, a year before the last presidential election.
Bryn Witthans, 18, a Dartmouth student from Hawaii, said he intends to register in Hanover on Election Day. He voted for Sanders in his native state’s primary, but isn’t yet sure he’s going to vote for Clinton.
“As a student, Bernie resonated with me, so I’m here more for the Bernie side of it rather than the Hillary side,” he said before Tuesday’s rally. “I’m here to listen to what Bernie has to say about Hillary because after he dropped out he started supporting her. Listening to why he made that switch is what will have me decide if I want to vote for Hillary.”
Witthans said his hesitancy toward supporting Clinton can be partly blamed on this election season.
He’s seen several videos online characterizing her as a “flip-flopper,” and he’s now unsure she’ll represent his interests.
Dylan Giles is much more certain that Clinton is the right candidate for him. A native Californian, he also voted for Sanders in the primary, but now is supporting the Democratic nominee.
“If you look at the difference between the two debates — the Republican primary and the Democratic primary — it’s pretty startling to see the difference,” he said. “I can tell Hillary just knows everything she needs to know about the job.”
Giles said he expects many of his classmates will vote this year, noting that Dartmouth students typically are politically active.
He said he knows some Republicans, but is hard pressed to find one supporting Trump.
Maya Frost-Belansky agreed, saying a lack of vocal Trump supporters had led to subdued discussion on campus.
“(College Republicans) might be supporting independent candidates, but not really (Trump),” she said.
A Colorado resident, Frost-Belansky supported Sanders in her state’s caucus. She’s a Clinton supporter now, but mostly because she won’t vote for Trump, whom she sees as disparaging to minorities and women.
“I guess it’s just like politics that they end up supporting each other, but hopefully, some of the things he stands for Hillary will end up standing for,” she said.
Voting will take place on Tuesday.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.