Jane Sanders Featured In New Heartwarming Campaign Ad [Video]

Bernie Sanders’ new campaign ad features a special guest. In the new ad, titled “Partnership,” Jane O’Meara Sanders talks about being married to someone with such strong convictions, and what it feels like to see thousands of supporters at his rallies.

“When we go out to the rallies and we see all those faces out there full of hope, optimism for the future; commitment to affect change. First it’s exhilarating but you walk away humbled.”

During the heartwarming spot, she spoke of how well she and Bernie have always worked well together as partners.

“It’s the work that has brought us together. He’s been an unbelievable partner, somebody I could always count on, somebody our kids could always count on … it’s a privilege to be married to somebody that you respect more than anybody.”

Sanders first saw Jane at his first mayoral debate during his campaign for mayor of Burlington, Vermont, in 1981. They didn’t actually meet until weeks later at an election night party when he asked her to dance. They dated for eight years before finally marrying in 1988.

Jane Sanders’ new ad isn’t the first time she’s praised Bernie’s consistency. In a January 2016 interview with People magazine, Jane said that even during the time when they were broken up, Bernie stayed in touch with her and her kids.

“He still came over that Christmas to give them presents and be with them. And he made it a point to go out with them even though he and I weren’t together anymore … When he finally asked me to marry him, I thought about that, about how he’s somebody you can count on.”

The couple had broken up because she wanted to get married and he didn’t. All that changed, though, and he finally popped the question.

As for Bernie, he tweeted his new campaign ad, praising his wife of 27 years as his soul mate and sounding board.

.@janeosanders is a soulmate and a sounding board. I could not have embarked on this journey with anyone else.https://t.co/0ttfKHBoms

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 17, 2016

Jane has becoming an increasingly important part of Bernie Sanders’ campaign, and as a surrogate she has made a positive impact campaigning for him around the country. On April 13, she appeared on an interview with Cenk Uygur on The Young Turks, an online progressive news outlet.

During the interview she proved her mettle with her intimate knowledge of issues facing the Sanders campaign, particularly the mainstream media’s depiction of him as a candidate who can’t win. Jane also highlighted the Catch-22 of pointing out Hillary Clinton’s flip-flopping on topics such as gun control.

“…it’s hard because you look at all these things and as soon as you start to talk about what she said or what he said in the past they yell ‘negative campaigning’ which it’s not because it’s always based on the fact.”

Jane tied this together with the issue of guns, and noted how Hillary has changed her stance on it since the 2008 primaries.

“She’s making the gun vote a huge issue here in New York. She ignored it in some of the states … but in 2008 she was so pro-gun that Barack Obama called her Annie Oakley.”

The new ad came out on the same day new polls show that Bernie Sanders’ favorability far surpasses that of his rival, Hillary Clinton. An NBC/WSJ poll published a net favorability poll for all candidates. That poll showed both Bernie and GOP long-shot John Kasich with positive net favorability among voters. While Sanders’ rating is nine percent, Kasich’s is 12 percent. Media favorites Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, are shown to have negative favorability ratings.

On Sunday, a new Gravis/One America News poll of likely New York voters shows Hillary Clinton’s lead has eroded to just a six-point lead. The surveys were taken on April 5th and 6th, which does not take into account Sanders’ post-Brooklyn debate or his Vatican visit. Nationally, Real Clear Politics aggregated several polls that show overall, just a mere 1.2 point lead for Clinton over Sanders.

.@SpikeLee has a message for you (And, yeah, it’s worth sticking around the five minutes ’til the end).https://t.co/nO4bTE7dsQ

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 18, 2016

Clearly, Bernie’s message is resonating with voters around the nation. He and Jane give the impression of being down-to-earth people, who are a part of this fight against inequality rather than apart from it. This is a big reason why they appeal to voters. Perhaps the Sanders campaign will take advantage of Jane’s eloquence in future ads to spread his message further.

[Photo by Erik Kabik Photography/AP/MediaPunch/IPX]