Inside the Sanders Surge: Iowa leader deploys army of supporters, surrogates in fight to lock down the left

Fox News correspondent Ellison Barber reports.DES MOINES, Iowa – Looking out at a sea of supporters, Bernie Sanders boldly predicted victory ahead of Monday night's Iowa caucuses -- which will mark the first test of whether the fiery populist can achieve in 2020 what eluded him four years ago.“We are going to win this election because we have the strongest grassroots movement in modern American history,” the insurgent and now-surging presidential candidate proclaimed as he spoke on Saturday night to more than 3,000 people at a campaign rally and concert in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Sanders campaign spent roughly $4.1 million to run ads in Iowa in the month leading up to the caucuses – far more than any other campaign – according to data provided by ad-tracking firm Advertising Analytics.But Sanders also used his war chest to beef up his grassroots outreach.“Television ads are important. “I believe in Bernie Sanders,” Andrews said when asked why he dug into his savings to take time off and come all the way to Iowa from California.He insisted that “Bernie can beat Donald Trump” and said that the Iowa voters he’s talked to in person or on the phone the past week are “assured that Bernie can beat Donald Trump.”Amanda Shumaker agreed.The Iowa voter, who had at one time considered backing Warren, drove nearly two hours from Cedar Falls to suburban Des Moines on Friday to attend a large Sanders rally and concert. His take: “I feel like he’s making all the right moves … he speaks to the common person.”Sanders seemed to take off after returning to the campaign trail in October after the 78-year-old candidate suffered a heart attack.“I think his heart attack honestly sent a jolt through his supporters and reminded them this is the time to do this,” longtime Iowa based Democratic consultant Jeff Link noted.Link, a veteran of numerous presidential and Senate campaigns in Iowa, noted that Sanders started with a leg up in Iowa – thanks to his 2016 showing when he narrowly lost to eventual nominee Hillary Clinton in that year’s caucuses.“The Sanders campaign was the big innovator in 2016.