Bernie Sanders has officially announced his bid for president in the 2020 election.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are more than happy to hear that their favorite candidate from the 2016 election is back. In fact, Sanders’ campaign raised nearly $6 million within the first 24 hours after this announcement from more than 220,000 donors.
“Together, you and I and our 2016 campaign began the political revolution,” Sanders wrote in an email to supporters. “Now, it is time to complete that revolution and implement the vision that we fought for.”
The Vermont senator has served since 2007 and is now 77 years old, putting him well above the 30 year age limit required to serve as a senator. Despite being on the older end of the presidential candidate spectrum, Sanders amassed a large democratic following after he made it to the final legs of the 2016 presidential election with Senator Hillary Clinton and current president Donald Trump.
Nearly three years after Sanders lost the Democratic primary to Clinton, he has already raised millions more than his 2016 campaign and millions more than any other Democratic candidate announced so far.
Sanders’s recent fundraising frenzy could spell good news for his 2020 presidential bid. According to CNN, those who become winners of the primary election are often leaders in early fundraising efforts.
As such, many are starting to view Bernie Sanders as a strong Democratic candidate.
However, early polling is the true indicator of success. Where many early fundraising efforts have indicated a sharp rise in success in the past, early polling is a more viable predicting tool for presidential nominations.
Regardless, Sanders is coming out strong. So, what does the Vermont senator hope to bring to the table this year?
His primary strength is that he is an antithesis to Trump. The current president has a traditionally raucous cultural standpoint and flimsy economic stance, according to Bloomberg.
Self-described democratic socialist Sanders is expected to bring a wariness toward immigration and instead focus on economic policy changes.
According to The Guardian, Sanders wants to implement a number of progressive policies he posited in 2016 including nationwide Medicare, a $15/hour minimum wage, higher taxes on the wealthy, and an aggressive environmental campaign set to tackle climate change.
He also plans to face Trump’s current policies head-on.
In a recent interview with Vermont Public Radio, he detailed his opinions on Trump’s current presidency.
“I think the current occupant of the White House is an embarrassment to our country,” the senator said. “I think he is a pathological liar. I also think he is a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, somebody who is gaining cheap political points by trying to pick on minorities, often undocumented immigrants.”
Trump’s run as president has seen ICE detain countless individuals, most of whom lack a criminal history. In fact, 18% of detainees had lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years and 25% had been living in the country for more than five.
To combat Trump’s divisive policies, Democrats are already preparing for the next election. Sanders is among a diverse group of senators who have announced their bids for the presidency, including Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Kirsten Gillibrand.
Stay updated with all the insights.
Navigate news, 1 email day.
Subscribe to Qrius
