PHILADELPHIA (CN) - Fresh off upset victories in Wisconsin and Michigan, Sen. Bernie Sanders visited Pennsylvania on Wednesday and Thursday hoping to make up ground in the polls ahead of the state's April 26 primary.
Speaking at the AFL-CIO convention at the Sheraton Downtown Philadelphia Hotel on Thursday morning, the U.S. senator from Vermont adopted a markedly quieter tone than he displayed the night before at Temple University, where he excoriated Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton before a crowd of 14,000 on issues ranging from her taking campaign contributions from Wall Street to her voting for the war in Iraq when she was in the U.S. Senate.
In contrast, his speech to the union members almost understated. Knowing full well that Clinton had addressed the same group a day earlier, Sanders wasted no time in reminding the crowd know that he, too, was a friend of the labor movement.
"You've been responsible for creating the American middle class, and I thank you for that," he said.
His remarks included a pledge to make it easier for people to approve a union in their workplace.
"Fifty percent plus one in a bargaining unit signs a card, we've got a union," he said.
The convention is a forum held every other year to foster discussion and share information on wages, benefits and other topics relevant to union members.
Although Sanders' audience was smaller than Clinton's had been the previous day, his supporters made up in enthusiasm what they lacked in numbers.
Sanders, who has won seven of the last eight Democratic contests, bounded onstage to raucous support from the union delegates who turned out to see him close out the three-day convention.
Where Clinton's crowd was composed, Sanders received a welcome befitting an athlete or a rock star, with chants of "Ber-nie! Ber-nie!" reverberating throughout the crowd as he entered.
The audience stayed involved as the Senator spoke. He drew particularly loud cheers when he mentioned his vows to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour and provide free college education and healthcare for all Americans, promises that, while controversial to some, have been the backbone of his campaign.
Philadelphia attorney Frank Rothermel, who introduced himself as a "lawyer for Bernie," said he believes Sanders' proposals are necessary steps to rebuilding a thriving middle class.
Rothermel spoke about his own labor union roots, and how by earning a union wage of $11.42 an hour in the 1980s, he was able to put himself through college.
"I couldn't make it in today's economy," he said.
"I know this - [Bernie's] not going to stop fighting," he said, though he predicted Clinton would take the Democratic nomination on the strength of superdelegates.
The latest polls for Pennsylvania shows Sanders dramatically closing the gap between himself and the Democratic frontrunner. Where Clinton led the race in Pennsylvania by 38 percent just over a month ago, the latest Quinnipiac poll has her up only by 6 percent.
With recent polling numbers showing him lagging behind in Pennsylvania by as few as six points and as many as twenty-two, Sanders spent the day stumping for last-minute support from union members as the state's April 26 primary draws nearer.
