The 2016 presidential race has become a very interesting competition. The Republicans were set to have a grand duel among 17 major candidates to take on the Democratic Party’s golden girl Hillary Clinton, a sure-fire winner with full partisan support.
That was until Bernie Sanders not only announced his candidacy for president but also that he would be running under the Democratic Party.
Sanders’ numbers started quite low, attracting only the extremely liberal and politically active that knew of him. Slowly but surely, word began to spread about the self-proclaimed democratic-socialist, resulting in his number of supporters and financers expanding. By the time the first Democratic debate came around, Sanders had legitimized himself as a contender for the nomination by leading the polls in New Hampshire.
Despite surging poll numbers, many voters still do not know who the candidate is. So, who is Bernie Sanders?
Born in 1941 and raised in New York City, Bernard “Bernie” Sanders developed a passion for fighting for fundamental human rights while organizing and participating in civil rights protests, including Chicago’s first sit-in, as a student at the University of Chicago during the 1960s.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Sanders moved back to New York City, only to move north to New Hampshire within two years. Still looking for change, Sanders hopped into the political scene by running for governor as an independent party candidate with the Liberty Union campaign.
Sanders finally achieved success in 1981 after being elected the mayor of Burlington, New Hampshire, the state’s most populated city. Sanders found his niche as an extreme liberal in the city, taking several liberal stances on foreign policy while also balancing the city’s budget, drawing a minor league baseball team to relocate to Burlington and leading several extensive revitalization projects.
After taking a small break from politics to teach, Sanders worked his way back into the political scene by defeating the incumbent Republican for his U.S. House of Representatives seat in 1990.
Sanders found him separated from many of the representatives as one of the few independents while also attacking both of the major parties for working on behalf of the wealthy instead of for the people. He stood firmly against the Brady Bill, the invasion of Iraq and the Patriot Act, as he proudly campaigns against still today.
After 16 years, Sanders took the next step in his political career by successfully running for the U.S. Senate, in which he won by a 2-to-1 ratio. During his two terms, he has taken strong fronts in the budget committee that include proposals to raise the minimum wage and increase Social Security payments. As a result, Sanders has achieved a 67 percent approval rating, the third highest among all senators.
Sanders announced his intentions to run on April 30 and officially launched his campaign on May 26. Unlike other candidates, Sanders has refused to accept funding through a Super-PAC (Political Action Committee) but instead through small individual donations from supporters.
He is a self-proclaimed democratic socialist running on several platforms, including income and wealth equality, universal healthcare, reducing the burden of student debt, making public colleges and universities tuition-free and expanding Social Security.
Many Democrats have come out to support Sanders for his far-left views that many college students and progressive liberals can relate to. While his poll numbers begin to level, Sanders will have to further adapt and find a way to reach more potential supporters while staying on his limited budget.
