Cookie Monster's daughter even approves (true story).

While camp Hilary is confident that a near tie in the Iowa Democratic caucuses roughly translates to her still winning for whatever reason, the lone wolf, Bernie Sanders, is busy once again hitting the pavement to garner support with grassroots movements that are defining his unlikely candidacy. For his supporters, the close call means there’s a lot more work to do — it’s time to get creative.

Enter Sesame Sanders, the left’s newest mascot. As the work of childhood friends and artists Gianni Franceschi and Gabriel Sanchez, Sesame Sanders was given life as a way to not only connect kids to the political climate (something Franceschi feels is important as is), but also to drive conversational power with a brand recognized and familiar with most already.

“I think deep down everyone has some sort of connection to Sesame Street characters,” says Franceschi. But he says the two were skeptical at first because of things like copyright infringement issues and, you know, borrowing others' ideas. After a coincidental run-in with Cookie Monster’s daughter, a self-proclaimed fan of what the two are doing, they were asked to mail stickers to Sesame Street's offices. Apparently they were well received, as no puppeteers have come knocking down their doors just yet. Franceschi feels they're in the clear …

“I think we’re good,” he laughs.

Roaming the streets of Denver amidst Bern Rallies is hardly the end-all to what the artists hope to accomplish, however. In response to the character’s popularity here, Sesame Sanders merchandise is being sold at stores around Colorado, even expanding its reach to other retailers in Burlington, VT and Los Angeles, CA. Franceschi has also been invited to appear at a Bernie Sanders Art Event at Wayfarers — a Brooklyn, NY based gallery.

All proceeds made from anything tied to the Sesame Sanders image goes directly to Bernie Sanders and his campaign for presidency. The two artists aren't pocketing anything, just like Bernie.

Follow Sesame Sanders via his Twitter and Facebook to find out where he'll visit next, and purchase merchandise via Sesame Sanders' official site.

Your move, Hilary …