Summer of Bernie

Enjoy it while it lasts, kids.

“I am surprised by the size of the crowds. In Keene, New Hampshire, on Saturday, we had close to a thousand people,” Sanders told reporters.

Sanders told NPR’s Tamra Keith that he was “stunned” by people’s reactions on the trail and the large crowds he draws. ”If you were to ask me a couple of months ago whether we would have larger crowds than any other candidate out there, I would not have told you that that would be the case,” he said.

More than 3,000 supporters showed up to a fiery Sanders rally on in Minneapolis recently. The longest-serving independent in congressional history said the crowds left him ”stunned. Stunned. I mean I had to fight my way to get into the room. Standing room only. Minneapolis was literally beyond belief.”

The crowds have translated to some cash for Sanders. His campaign said it expects to have about $10 million on hand by the end of the month from more than 200,000 contibutors and plans to raise about $50 million total. But that figure is about half of what the Clinton campaign is reportedly expected to raise.

Just remember, Bernie isn't actually running for President. He's running to keep those crowds fired up all year so that they don't just tune out inevitable Hillary altogether.