Sen. Bernie Sanders: 'It would probably not be a good idea for people to underestimate me'

(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

published 30 April 2015

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will officially announce on Thursday that he is running for president, and is well aware that it won't be easy to secure the Democratic nomination.

"I am running in this election to win," he told USA Today. "We've got a long path forward. Most people in America have never heard of Bernie Sanders. More than 90 percent of Americans have heard of Hillary Clinton.... I will absolutely be outspent. But, I do believe we have a chance to raise significant amounts of money through small, individual contributions." Sanders said he decided to run after spending the past year traveling around the nation "trying to ascertain whether there really is grassroots support in terms of people standing up and being prepared to take on the billionaire class. I believe that there is."

Sanders said he thinks Americans are sick of "the greed of corporate America" and is looking forward to having a "serious debate about issues that affect working families." He also pointed out that all of his political wins have been upsets — he beat an incumbent to become a congressman in 1990 and one of the wealthiest businessmen in Vermont to become a senator in 2006. "It probably would not be a good idea for people to underestimate me," he said.