Sanders brings first-time delegates
When Jose Villalobos of Elgin was elected as a delegate for Bernie Sanders to the Democratic National Convention, one of his first moves was finding people who have gone before.
"It's a first for a lot of us," Villalobos said of his fellow Sanders delegates.
Villalobos is part of a sizable contingent of Sanders delegates at the convention in Philadelphia this week after the Vermont senator nearly overcame Hillary Clinton in the March primary in the state where she grew up.
He was elected from the Northwest suburban 8th Congressional District, and the story of first-time delegates is a familiar one to politics watchers lately.
Last week, Republicans had a large number of first-time delegates at their convention who had been elected as backers of Donald Trump.
Are there any similarities?
"Well, I think bringing in the new-timers is the only real similarity," Villalobos said. "The minute you start having a conversation with a Trump guy or a Bernie guy, you're going to find a lot of big differences really quick."