Bernie Sanders has invested big in Nevada. Will it pay off?

Bernie Sanders closed a crucial week in the 2020 Democratic primary by making his case to west coast voters, hoping to solidify his lead in the race with a win in Saturday’s caucuses in Nevada.

His Friday night rally in Las Vegas looked and felt a bit like a music festival. Supporters waved cell phone lights in the air. Thousands screamed and clapped approval as Sanders, from an outdoor amphitheater backlit in blue, mentioned his signature policies.

“The American people understand that it is time for fundamental change,” he said. His campaign said the crowd count was 2,020.

“Everyone else is full of shit,” said Marlene Lara, 28 as she waited to see Sanders. “He’s the first candidate that feels like he’s for the people.”

Polling in Nevada has Sanders well ahead of his Democratic rivals. A Las Vegas Review-Journal/AARP Nevada poll from last week found him at 25% support in the state, with three-fifths of voters under 30 backing him.

After a solid debate on Wednesday night, the Vermont senator sought to hosted a final “Get out to caucus” rally in Las Vegas’s Springs Preserve Amphitheater energize his base. His campaign is counting on a coalition of Latinos, young people and progressive voters to carry him to victory in Nevada and beyond.

“Let us go out, let us bring our friends and our neighbors,” he told supporters. “Let us have the largest voter turnout in the history of the Nevada caucus.”

Sanders has invested big, and early, in Nevada. The campaign employs at least 250 people in the Silver state, more than double the staff of Pete Buttigieg, who has the second-largest campaign\ with 100 people. And an army of volunteers has canvassed for Sanders on foot and and horseback, to reach as many urban and rural voters as possible.

The message resonated with Daniel Dunbar, who will be caucusing for Sanders on Saturday. For Dunbar, a 59-year-old HVAC technician based in Las Vegas, Sanders’ Medicare for All plan feels especially urgent. “My brother died yesterday,” he said. “He died on the way to the hospital.”

It feels like Sanders is “looking out for everyone”, Dunbar added. “He’s going to reform the justice system – which I have been a victim of. He’s going to help us afford a decent living.”

Sanders’ campaign has also invested in Spanish-language advertisements across the state, hosted supporters over tamales and held a soccer tournament as part of its outreach to Latinx voters, who account for one in five voters in Nevada.

Related: Health, heat and deportations: the issues driving Nevada caucus voters

Sanders’ outreach appears to have paid off: he has 33% support among Latino voters in the state, according to a recent Univision poll. And just ahead of the caucus, Mijente, a prominent grass-roots organization that mobilizes Latinx and Chicanx voters – endorsed the Vermont senator.

Hector Riviera, 50, said Sanders’ health plan and immigration reform policies had won him over. “I want to hear more about how he’s going to do it,” said Riviera, an electrician. “But I like his ideas.”

Felipe Silva, a Las Vegas-based organizer with the immigrant rights group Make the Road Action, said Sanders’ repeated visits to the state showed he was committed to the community. “It’s not to say that we love Bernie, but we believe that he stands with our values.”

If Sanders wins Saturday’s caucus, he will have established a crucial lead heading into the primary in South Carolina on 29 February and Super Tuesday on 3 March. He avoided mention of his Democratic rivals during the rally and instead cast himself as the foil to Donald Trump.

“We cannot continue having a pathological liar as president,” he said. “We are going to defeat Donald Trump.”

One potential roadblock for the senator is the tension between his campaign and the powerful Culinary Workers Union, which says it represents 60,000 hotel and casino workers in Nevada. The union, which provides hard-won health insurance for 130,000 people, came out this month opposing Sanders’ Medicare for All proposal. The dispute over policy escalated in the week leading up to the caucuses, with the union reporting that its leaders were being trolled by people who said they were Sanders supporters.

During the Wednesday night Democratic debate, Sanders disowned any supporters who may have acted inappropriately. It was a rare, contentious moment for the candidate, who largely stayed above the fray during the fiercest debate of the election cycle.

Sanders also suggested some of the online vitriol blamed on his supporters might be coming from Russia.

On Friday, amid reports US officials had warned Sanders that Russia was trying to help his campaign, Sanders said he learned about the interference a month ago. His communication director said the information was leaked ahead of the Nevada caucuses to sabotage the candidate.

“The Republican establishment is getting nervous,” Sanders told supporters at his rally. “The Democratic establishment is getting nervous. And they’re going a little bit nuts!

“You know what: when we stand up together, they ain’t gonna stop us.”

Nevada’s large labor movement has been divided on Sanders. Whereas the local Culinary Union – which has not endorsed any candidate – appeared to implicitly criticize him, the Clark County Education Association, which represents more than 18,000 educators, endorsed Sanders last month.

Across the state, Sanders’ ambitious, progressive message seem to have landed with supporters looking for change. Tanya Duncan, a 47-year-old Reno resident.

“He genuinely cares about what he’s doing. He has his heart and soul in it,” said Duncan, who works as a financial analyst. She said she appreciated Sanders’ plans on student debt and healthcare. “He’s going to negotiate on the side of the people.”