To Lina Wu, the issues at stake in this year's election are clear: reproductive rights, racial equality, protections for LGBTQ communities. And, as a student at New York University, the skyrocketing cost of college is, of course, top of mind.Wu, 18, thinks Bernie Sanders is by far the best candidate to tackle those priorities, in part because she feels he actually interacts and communicates with groups she cares about. So she joined throngs of other Sanders supporters and headed to a Bronx park on Thursday afternoon, waiting four hours to hear the senator from Vermont speak."It was worth it," she told Refinery29 during a livestream of the rally on Facebook.

Sanders energized the crowd with promises to address the key issues cited by Wu — along with other planks of his platform — during a 40-minute stump speech. Vows to act on income inequality, climate change paid family leave , and single payer health car e were met with cheers and applause. His campaign said late Thursday that 18,500 were in attendance."What this campaign is about," Sanders told the supporters gathered in Saint Mary's Park, "is creating a political revolution."Both Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have ramped up campaigning in New York ahead of the state's April 19 primary. With about 250 delegates at stake, the Empire State is a major prize in the final stretch of the primary campaign for the Democratic nomination. Big wins in major contests on the calendar in April could help give Sanders the momentum — and delegate math — needed to close in on Clinton's lead.