Bernie Sanders was once just an obscure Vermont senator, and is now a household name — and that is a really, really good thing for him. In fact, of all the candidates running for president, Sanders is the only one whose likeability ratings actually go up as people get to know more about him, an AP poll released Monday night reflects.

Sanders is the most likeable of all the presidential candidates with 48 percent seeing him favorably to 39 percent unfavorably. Those numbers are up from the last time AP did a similar survey, showing he is gaining popularity as people become more familiar with who he is.

“I’ve grown to like him more. The exposure that he’s getting, there’s a bit of a snowball effect with his campaign,” said Washington D.C. resident Les Blackmore, 60.