We’ve heard about the huge numbers turning out for campaign rallies for Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders is starting to channel the excitement for his campaign into a network of volunteers. The New York Times reports:

Indeed, on what the campaign is calling one of the most important days of its upstart movement, Mr. Sanders came to this small apartment in southwest Washington, looked into a camera and spoke live to what his campaign said was more than 100,000 supporters nationwide…

The national organizing day, which featured more than 3,500 events and house parties across the country, centered around a technological infrastructure that uses text-messaging sign-ups and a deep database of volunteers. Attendees at the house parties were asked to text a number to opt in and show interest.

A few months ago, Mr. Sanders never thought he would be speaking to this many people, telling First Draft that he would have thought that maybe 1,000 would turn out. But as he continues to draw large crowds, crowds that “continue to surprise me to this day,” the campaign realized that now was the time to try and turn the interest into working volunteers.

Hillary Clinton recently attended a house party in Iowa, and found that many of the people there supported Bernie Sanders. The New York Times recently  had an article on Clinton building her Iowa organization entitled, Stung in 2008, Hillary Clinton Builds a Formidable Team in Iowa. It looks like there is danger she will be “stung” again in 2016, with many at a recent house party for Clinton saying they prefer Sanders:

The careful, ground-up organizing seems designed to counter the kind of threat to Mrs. Clinton that has emerged from Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, whose hard-left policies have inspired huge crowds at rallies. Many at the Clinton house party in Newton said Mr. Sanders was the candidate they were most drawn to. “I like everything he says,” said Dean Lane, who farms 1,800 acres of corn and soybeans.

“I’m a pretty wealthy farmer,” he added. “I think it’s ridiculous the way we treat poor people. Nobody wants to pay a dime in taxes.”

Few of the 45 in attendance signed the Clinton commitment cards or said they were ready to volunteer for her.

Amid the generous pouring of rosé and trays of local Maytag blue cheese, the house party seemed likely to leave a lasting glow with attendees when the time came to choose between Mrs. Clinton and an alternative. Ms. Mueller considered it a success because she had met many people she intended to contact over and over until the caucuses next year.

The challenge for Mr. Sanders, who is months behind Mrs. Clinton in organizing in Iowa, is to channel the passion of the many who turn out to hear him speak into a campaign infrastructure. His campaign says it has hired 33 organizers and also has 10 field offices in Iowa.

“The misconception is that there’s not organizing going on around” the impressive crowds, said Pete D’Alessandro, the campaign coordinator for Mr. Sanders in Iowa.

A third Democratic candidate, former Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland, plans to hire staff “across the state” by the end of the summer, his Iowa director, Jake Oeth, announced in a recent memo. In addition, a “super PAC” supporting Mr. O’Malley, Generation Forward, is gearing up to “knock on doors across Iowa soon,” according to its Facebook page.

Clinton still has the lead, but Sanders has the momentum–and the hearts and minds of many Democratic voters.

Updated from a post at Liberal Values