People for Bernie, independent from the official campaign and largely organized via social media, grew to over 1 million followers on Facebook.
Founded by Occupy Wall Street participants, People for Bernie Sanders became a major organizing force for progressive figures during the 2016 presidential campaign, responsible for coining the hashtag #feelthebern.
People for Bernie was founded in early 2015 by Charles Lenchner and Winnie Wong, several months before the official campaign announcement on April 30, 2015.
[1] Their strategy and goals were heavily influenced by lessons learned during Occupy Wall Street, particularly the need for activist groups to demonstrate impact on electoral politics[3] Lenchner was a founder of Ready for Warren, a grassroots movement that aimed to convince Elizabeth Warren to run for president in 2016, and eventually endorsed Sanders.
[4] People for Bernie officially launched with an open letter released the same day Sanders declared his candidacy for president.
[13][14] National Nurses United also funded People for Bernie, through a PAC called Progressive Kick, to expand their social media efforts.