Bernie Sanders ‘frontrunner’ for 2020 Democratic nomination
Supporters says the veteran senator is preparing to launch an ‘even bigger’ bid for the White House than 2016
Bernie Sanders is preparing to launch a second bid for the White House in 2020, with supporters and advisors suggesting he would start the presidential primary season as the Democratic frontrunner.
The veteran senator from Vermont came from virtual obscurity to within a whisker of the Democratic nomination in 2016, losing out to Hillary Clinton in a contenious and at times brutal primary campaign.
“When Sanders launched his campaign in May 2015, 76% of Americans had either no opinion of him or had never heard of him. Now, the nation – like the world – is waiting to see what the 77-year-old leader of the American left decides to do next,” writes Lauren Gamnino for The Guardian.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Associated Press says “a final decision has not been made, but those closest to the 77-year-old self-described democratic socialist suggest that neither age nor interest from a glut of progressive presidential prospects would dissuade him from undertaking a second shot at the presidency”.
“This time, he starts off as a front-runner, or one of the front-runners,” Sanders’ 2016 campaign manager Jeff Weaver told AP, pointing to his proven ability to generate massive fundraising through small-donations and his ready-made network of volunteers and staffers.
However, as high-profile supporters and policy advisors met in Vermont over the weekend, “amid the enthusiasm… there were also signs of cracks in Sanders’ political base”, says Time Magazine.
Where he ran in 2016 as the outsider candidate against the establishment Clinton, this year the prospective 2020 Democratic field is likely to feature a collection of ambitious liberal leaders such as Senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris.
All three of these have embraced his calls for “Medicare for All” and a $15 minimum wage.
“There are other people picking up the flag and holding it high, and you know, it could be Bernie, but I think there are other people as well,” said Burt Cohen, a Sanders supporter and former New Hampshire state senator who acknowledged that some people worry the politician is too old for a second run.
With as many as two dozen Democrats mulling a White House bid, the primary looks set to be a battle for the future soul of the party, with hard-left candidates battling it out with those from the centre such as former vice-president Joe Biden, businessman Michael Bloomberg and Texan congressman Beto O’Rourke.
The loss of several high-profile candidates who ran on a Sanders-style progressive platform in last month's midterm elections has “set off a debate on the left about how progressives might win outside the most liberal enclaves and whether the movement might be better served by a 'fresh face' for 2020”, says Gambino.
Despite all the signs pointing to a 2020 run, “Sanders has given himself a clear escape hatch”, says The Independent.
His wife Jane O’Meara Sanders said one question above all others would guide his decision: “Who can beat Donald Trump?”
Sanders' team has repeatedly pointed to polls which show he would have beaten Trump in a head-to-head two years ago, but the senator himself recently suggested that he would step aside if he believes another candidate has a better shot at denying the sitting US president a second term.
“There are no clear indications from Sanders or those closest to him, however, that he currently has that belief,” says AP.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Virtual prisons': how tech could let offenders serve time at home
Under The Radar New technology offers opportunities to address the jails crisis but does it 'miss the point'?
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Week contest: Airport goodbyes
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
'We shouldn't be surprised that crypto is back'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
IPPs: the prisoners serving never-ending jail sentences
The Explainer Sentences of 'imprisonment for public protection' (IPPs) have been widely condemned, but many are still in force
By The Week UK Published
-
Trump aims to be a fascist dictator, John Kelly says
Speed Read The retired general was Trump's chief of staff from 2017 to 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Who could be in a potential Harris Cabinet?
Today's Big Question Speculation is already brewing about who could occupy the top positions
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The three best and three worst modern vice-presidential nominees
In Depth A candidate's choice of running mate can tip the scales in one of two directions
By David Faris Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published