Bernie Sanders' wife insists he can make it all the way to the White House

Jane Sanders said people had been underestimating her husband throughout his political career

Jane Sanders has appeared at her husband's rallies (AP)

It would have rather odd if she had said anything else, but Bernie Sanders’ wife has insisted he can make it all the way to the White House.

Jane Sanders said that throughout the Vermont senator’s career, people had been saying that he was “unelectable”. Indeed, many of Hillary Clinton’s supporters have said that while they like Mr Sanders, they believe the former secretary of state had more chance of becoming president.

But speaking on CNN just hours before the Iowa caucuses were due to get underway, Ms Sanders said she believed the 74-year-old, who is running just three points behind Hillary Clinton, had proved his mettle.

Ms Sanders has been a close advisor to her husband as he launched his campaign (AP)

“That's always been the rap on Bernie. Everybody always says, ‘He can't win’,” said the former college president.

“He won the mayor’s race by ten points. If ten people had stayed home and bought the ‘He's not electable angle, we wouldn’t be here today. So every vote and every caucus member counts.”

Ms Sanders, who has campaigned alongside her husband as he had soared in Iowa, said that even after he was elected mayor of Burlington, Vermont, people still continued to question his ability to make it.

“They said he couldn't be a congressman. He lost his first election because the voters bought that. He lost by three percentage points,” she said.

“When they woke up the next morning they said, ‘Oh he could have been elected had we not just voted because we thought he couldn't be’. The next time he won by 17 per cent.”

At a final campaign rally on Sunday night, Mr Sanders said that when he announced his candidacy in May 2015, he polled at just 11 points in Iowa. He currently stands at 45 - three points behind Ms Clinton.

Ms Sanders said people had been energised to a level she had perhaps not anticipated.

“I think we’ve been very surprised at not the resonance of his ideas, but of the fervor of the support,” she said