Many are shocked by the size of the crowds Bernie Sanders is drawing

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has drawn huge crowds recently. He packed Drake University's auditorium, drew 1,000 people in New Hampshire, and the attendance was estimated at 5,000 at a stop in Minnesota.

Sanders has indicated that the numbers have surprised him. He told NPR that he's, "Stunned. Stunned. I mean I had to fight my way to get into the room. Standing room only. Minneapolis was literally beyond belief."

Sanders isn't the only one who has been stunned. Kurt Meyer, a tri-county Democratic Party chair in Iowa, helped host a Sanders rally in his area. "When we had something in excess of 300 people show up, I was astonished," Meyer told NPR. Meyer sent a text to a one of Clinton's senior people in Iowa indicating that Sanders was potentially a lot closer to the frontrunner than he appears.

That same story quotes John McBride, a 24-year-old who drove 3 hours to see Sanders speak. McBride identifies student debt as a major issue for him and was drawn to Sanders' vision of a debt-free college experience. "When I meet somebody, I ask them their name, where they went to school," said McBride, "Where they studied and how much debt they have."

Bernie Sanders has climbed in recent polls, grabbing 32% in New Hampshire. Hillary Clinton stayed ahead at 44% in the same poll.