Sanders was elected mayor of Burlington, Vermont in 1981.[6] He was re-elected three times. In 1991, he became a United States representative for Vermont's at-large congressional district.[7] He was a congressman for 16 years. In 2006, he was elected to the U.S. Senate after he won 64.5% of the vote. In 2012, he was re-elected by winning almost 71% of the vote. In 2018, he was re-elected by winning nearly 68% of the vote.
After his presidential campaign ended, he started an organization, Our Revolution. Its goal is to "recruit and support candidates for local, state, and national office". He has also announced the upcoming creation of The Sanders Institute, which will spread his political ideas through documentary movies and other media.[24] In February 2017, Sanders began webcasting The Bernie Sanders Show on Facebook.[25]
On February 19, 2019, Sanders announced a second presidential campaign for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential election.[26] His 2020 campaign had raised over four million in donations from individual donors, the largest than any other presidential candidate in history.[27] In early 2020, Sanders was seen as the front-runner for the nomination after winning the first three primary contests and leading in national polling numbers,[28][29][30][31] but after Joe Biden won most of the Super Tuesday contests in March the primary became more competitive.[32] After failing to win many primary states, Sanders ended his campaign on April 8, 2020, later supporting Biden's campaign for President.[4][33]
He worked as a writer and director for the American People's Historical Society (APHS).[48] When he worked at APHS, he made a 30-minute documentary about Eugene V. Debs.[49]
Mayor of Burlington, 1981–89
After Sanders's failed run for governor, close friend Richard Sugarman wanted him to be a candidate for mayor of Burlington.[50] Sanders won the election in February 1981. He beat the six-term mayor Gordon Paquette by ten votes.[50] He took office on April 6, 1981.
As mayor, Sanders wanted to fix Burlington's Lake Champlain.[51] In 1981, Sanders was against Tony Pomerleau. Sanders did not want Pomerleau to change the industrial[51] lake property owned by the Central Vermont Railway.[51] He did not want the waterfront to become expensive condominiums, hotels, and offices.[52]
Sanders used the slogan "Burlington is not for sale".[50] He supported a plan that changed the waterfront area into a district with housing, parks, and public space.[52] As of 2016, the lake area has a public beach and bike paths, along with a boathouse, many parks, and a science center.[52]
Sanders is against the Patriot Act.[63] As a member of Congress, he voted against the original Patriot Act.[64] Sanders voted for several acts that would block the Patriot Act.[63][65]
United States senator, 2007–present
After Jim Jeffords retired from the Senate in 2006, Sanders became senator when he won the Senate election with 65% of the vote.[66] During the election season, then-Senator Barack Obama supported Sanders and campaigned with him in Vermont.[67]
Sanders' filibuster was published in February 2011 by Nation Books as The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class.[74]
In 2012, he was re-elected with almost 71% of the vote beating Republican John MacGovern.[75][76][77]
Sanders is the longest serving Independent member of Congress in American history.[6] In November 2015, Sanders changed parties and became a member of the Democratic Party.[2] On July 26, 2016, however shortly after losing the Democratic presidential nomination, Sanders said he would serve as an Independent in the Senate.[1]
On January 4, 2017, while on the Senate floor, Sanders showed a large cutout of a tweet by President-elect Trump from May 2015 where Trump said he was the "first & only potential GOP candidate" who opposed any cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, citing it as what Trump appealed to older voters to elect him on.[81]
While in Los Angeles on February 19, Sanders called Trump "a pathological liar". He promised the defeat of "Trump and Trumpism and the Republican right-wing ideology."[82]
On March 30, two days after President Trump signed an "Energy Independence" executive order, Sanders called Trump's choice to focus on job creation over climate change is "nonsensical, and stupid, and dangerous".[83]
Sanders was against the nomination of Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court. He outlined his issues with Gorsuch in an April 4, 2017 appearance on the Senate floor. Sanders said he believed Gorsuch would support removing restrictions on campaign finance and would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.[84]
On April 7, 2017, Sanders showed disapproval of President Trump's ordered airstrike from the day before: "If there’s anything we should’ve learned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in which the lives of thousands of brave American men and women and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Afghan civilians have been lost and trillions of dollars spent, it’s that it’s easier to get into a war than out of one."[85]
On June 11, 2017, Sanders was a keynote speaker at the People's Summit in Chicago, Illinois.[88] In his speech, Sanders discussed of a plan that "can enhance and expand issue campaigns and hold all elected officials accountable to popular demands for justice, equality, and freedom".[88] During his speech, he repeatedly criticized the Democratic Party, calling it an "absolute failure" and blaming it for the election of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.[89]
I’m often asked by the media and others: How did it come about that Donald Trump, the most unpopular presidential candidate in the modern history of our country, won the election? And my answer is—and my answer is that Trump didn’t win the election; the Democratic Party lost the election. Let us—let us be very, very clear: The current model—the current model and the current strategy of the Democratic Party is an absolute failure. This is not—this is not my opinion. This is the facts. You know, we focus a lot on the presidential election, but we also have to understand that Democrats have lost the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate. Republicans now control almost two-thirds of the governors’ chairs throughout the country. And over the last nine years, Democrats have lost almost 1,000 legislative seats in states all across this country. Today—today, in almost half of the states in America, Democratic Party has almost no political presence at all. Now, if that’s not a failure, if that’s not a failed model, I don’t know what a failed model is.[89]
I am sickened by this despicable act. Let me be as clear as I can be, violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms. Real change can only come about through nonviolent action, and anything else runs counter to our most deeply held American values.[93]
On October 12, 2017, Sanders was announced as a key speaker for a women's rightsconvention in Detroit, Michigan.[97] However a week later, Sanders cancelled his appearance at the convention so that he could travel to Puerto Rico and help rescue efforts from the damage of Hurricane Maria.[98]
In November 2017, after the Paradise Papers were leaked, Sanders warned of "an international oligarchy" and blamed corrupt billionaires and companies for trying to avoid paying taxes and called it unfair.[99]
Republicans control the House, Senate and White House. They have to pass an annual budget, not more one-month continuing resolutions. We need a bipartisan solution to the economic crises facing the middle class, to the DACA crisis that Trump created and to disaster relief.[101]
Sanders gave an online reply to Trump's January 2018 State of the Union address in which he called Trump "dishonest" and criticized him for creating "a looming immigration crisis" by ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.[102]
On May 9, 2018, Sanders proposed the Workplace Democracy Act, a bill that would grow labor rights by making it easier for workers to join a union and make it harder to break-up unions.[105] It was supported by several Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Tammy Baldwin and Sherrod Brown.[105]
On August 14, 2018, Sanders won the Democratic nomination for Senator with 94% of the primary vote.[106] However, before the primaries, Sanders said he would not accept the Democratic nomination and run as an Independent.[107]
In August 2018, Sanders criticized the wealth of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and how Amazon employees were paid less than the minimum wage and lived under poor conditions while Bezos increased his fortune.[108] In September 2018, Sanders introduced the "Stop BEZOS" bill which would focus on increase work wages for Amazon and Walmart employers and heavily tax Bezos and other higher company officials.[108] In October 2018, Bezos announced that the company would pay all employees in the United States minimum wage with many believing Sanders is the reason why.[109]
In November 2018, Sanders was re-elected to the Senate winning nearly 68% of the vote.[111]
In September 2018, The Guardian published two op-ed pieces talking about the need of a progressive cooperation to challenge the rising threat of globalism and authoritarianism, one of which Sanders wrote[112] and another by European progressive Yanis Varoufakis.[113] In late October, Varoufakis announced the upcoming launch of Progressives International on November 30 in Vermont alongside Sanders.[114] Former 2018 Brazilian presidential candidateFernando Haddad joined the movement.[115]
In December 2018, Sanders supported a bill with Senators Chris Murphy and Mike Lee to use the 1973 War Powers Resolution to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.[116] At first, the Senate did not supported it, but after the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018 the bill had bipartisan co-sponsors and the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 56–41 on December 13.[117]
In March 2019, Sanders, along with seven other members of Congress such as Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, signed a pledge written by veterans and their families to bring a "responsible" end to U.S. military interventions around the globe.[118]
When Democrats gained control of the Senate in the 2020 elections, Sanders became Chair of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee on January 20, 2021.[121] He said he would make a COVID-19 relief bill with a $2,000 stimulus checks and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour his main goal.[122]
On February 23, 2021, Sanders became the first senator in the Democratic caucus to not support one of Biden's cabinet picks when he voted against Tom Vilsack's nomination as Agriculture Secretary.[123]
Sanders is said to have an influence on the Joe Biden administration.[124] When mentioned that he had become an important voice in Biden's administration, he replied, "As somebody who wrote a book called Outsider in the House, yes, it is a strange experience to be having that kind of influence that we have now".[124] Their relationship has lasted over 30 years and Sanders has said it is because they both respect and trust each other: "We have had a good relationship. He wants to be a champion of working families, and I admire that and respect that".[124]
In April 2022, it was reported that Sanders was interested in running for president again in 2024 if President Joe Biden decides not to run for re-election.[125][126]
In August 2011, Public Policy Polling found that 67% of American people supported Sanders.[129] That made him the third most popular senator in the country.[129] In a poll by Fox News in March 2017, found Sanders to be the most popular senator or political figure in the United States with the approval rating of 61%.[130]
A Harvard-Harris Poll published every April found Sanders to be the most popular active politician in the country.[131] The same poll, finds Sanders to be the most popular senator in the country.[14][15]
Committee assignments
As of 2023[update], Sanders's committee assignments are as follows:[132][133]
Sanders' campaign events have brought many people from around the country.[20][138][139] Sanders said he was "Stunned. Stunned. I mean I had to fight my way to get into the room. Standing room only. Minneapolis was literally beyond belief."[139]
Months after his campaign started, poll numbers showed Clinton was the most likely to win the Democratic nomination.[21] However, on June 25, 2015, The New York Times said that Sanders might win the primaries instead of Clinton.[21] On August 12, 2015, the Boston Herald said that Sanders was winning by 44% to Clinton's 37% in New Hampshire among Democratic primary voters.[140] A poll released on August 25, 2015, showed that Sanders was once again winning in New Hampshire with 42% to Clinton's 35%.[141][142]
During his campaign, Sanders was known for his popularity among millennials and young voters.[143] In the 2016 campaign, Sanders won more votes among those under age 30 than both Trump and Clinton combined. It shows more than 2 million young people cast ballots for Sanders before the primaries in June.[143] His popularity led to the creation a Facebook political meme page Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash which has gained popularity among his supporters and the internet.[144]
A poll released in September 2015 showed that Sanders was leading Clinton in Iowa with 41% to Clinton's 40%.[145] In October 2015, polling showed Sanders and Clinton were tied in polls in both New Hampshire and Iowa.[146] In November 2015, a poll showed Sanders was increasing his numbers in New Hampshire, almost tied with Clinton.[147]
On November 19, 2015, Sanders gave a speech at Georgetown University about his views on democratic socialism.[148] In his speech, Sanders talked about how the policies of presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson were based on democratic socialism.[149]
On December 3, 2015, a Quinnipiac University poll found Sanders to be the Democratic candidate more likely to win the presidential election against top Republican candidates such as Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Ben Carson.[150] On December 4, 2015, after online voting ended, votes showed that Sanders was in first place to become Time's 2015 Person of the Year.[151] He had 10.4% of votes compared to second place holder Malala Yousafzai's 5.3%.[152] On December 7, Time announced that Sanders won the reader's poll of the magazine, but he would not be person of the year.[153] On December 9, poll numbers showed that Sanders was leading Clinton in the New Hampshire polls by 50% to 40%.[154] The university also showed Clinton was winning with 61% to Sanders's 30% of the national poll.[155]
In January 2016, in weeks leading to the Democratic primaries, Sanders was leading New Hampshire by 50% to Clinton's 46% and in Iowa with 49% to 43%.[156][157] On January 21, 2016, Sanders' campaign advertisement, America, was shown in Iowa and New Hampshire.[158] Many people liked the ad and the New York Times said it was "powerful" and "inspiring".[158]
In early February 2016, a national poll showed Sanders and Clinton almost tied with Clinton's 44% to Sanders' 42% in the national poll.[155] A few weeks later, Quinnipiac University, CNN and Fox News poll numbers showed Sanders being the front-runner with 47% to Clinton's 44% of the national poll.[159] After the Nevada caucus, new poll numbers showed Sanders's national lead growing with 42% to Clinton's 36%.[160] A February 2016 Quinnipiac University poll found that Sanders was the most honest candidate in the election.[161]
On March 8, 2016, Sanders won the Michigan Democratic primary.[162] Political experts and news networks called it an upset victory.[162] Polls showed Clinton winning by many numbers.[162][163] On March 11, 2016, a mass protest over a planned Trump rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago caused hundreds to clash and four people were injured.[164] In the aftermath, Trump accused of Sanders and his supporters of creating the protest to purposely cancel the Trump rally.[164] Sanders later called out Trump as a "pathological liar" who leads a "vicious movement", and said that "while I appreciate that we had supporters at Trump's rally in Chicago, our campaign did not organize the protests".[165]
In early April 2016, national poll numbers showed Sanders winning by 49% to Clinton's 47%.[166] On April 8, Sanders was asked by Vatican City to talk about the issues of income inequality and the environment.[167] Sanders agreed to the invitation and spoke at the Vatican on April 15.[167] While on his trip, he met with Pope Francis in private.[168] In April 2016, Sanders was added into Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2016.[169] His introduction was written by former United States Secretary of Labor and supporter Robert Reich.[169]
In May 2016, national poll numbers showed Sanders loosing to Clinton with 45% to Clinton's 50% with 5% people undecided.[170] On May 3, 2016, Sanders pulled another political upset after beating Clinton in the Indiana primaries by six percent.[171] Earlier poll numbers showed Clinton winning in Indiana.[171] On May 10, 2016, Sanders won the West Virginia primaries by 51.4% to Clinton's 35.8%.[172] In 2008, Clinton had won that election by 66.93% to her primary challenger Barack Obama's 25.17%.[173]
A NBC/Wall Street Journal poll in May found Clinton and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump in a tie, but the same poll found that if Sanders were the Democratic nominee, 53% of voters would support him to 39% for Trump.[174] Clinton and Trump were the least popular likely candidates in the poll's history, while Sanders received a 43% positive with a 36% negative rating.[175]
On June 6, 2016, Clinton reached the number of delegates to become the presumptive Democratic Party nominee.[176] Sanders said he will still remain in the race until the Democratic Party convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in July 2016.[177] On July 12, 2016, Sanders announced his support for Clinton at a unity rally in New Hampshire.[22]
On July 22, 2016, WikiLeaks revealed that DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and other DNC official, mocked and planned to sabotage the Sanders's campaign in favor of Clinton.[178] Sanders said he wanted Schultz to resign. The next day, Schultz announced that she will resign after the Democraitc convention on July 28, 2016.[178]
Sanders spoke on the first night of the Democratic Convention on July 25, 2016.[179] In his speech, Sanders told his supporters that he thanked them and to vote for Clinton to defeat Donald Trump in the general election.[180] On July 26, 2016, during a roll-call vote at the 2016 Democratic National Convention Sanders lost the nomination to Clinton.[23]
On February 1, 2016, Sanders lost the Iowa caucus to Clinton by less than 1%.[181] On February 9, Sanders won the New Hampshire caucus by 22%.[182] His victory was one of the largest in years.[183] Sanders became the first democratic socialist and the first non-Christian to win a United States presidential primary for a major party.[184] On February 20, 2016, Sanders lost the Nevada caucus by 5%.[185] On February 27, 2016, Sanders lost the South Carolina primary by almost 48%.[186]
On May 3, 2016, Sanders won the Indiana primaries with 53% to Clinton's 47% of the vote.[211] On May 7, 2016, he lost the Guam caucuses with 40% to Clinton's 60% of the vote.[212] On May 10, 2016, Sanders won the West Virginia primaries with 51% to Clinton's 36% of the vote.[213] On May 17, 2016, Sanders lost the Kentucky primaries by less than 1%.[214] On the same day, he won the Oregon primaries with 55% of the vote to Clinton's 46%.[215]
In August 2016, Sanders founded Our Revolution. It is an organization dedicated to educating voters about political issues, getting people involved in the political process, and recruiting and supporting candidates for local, state, and national office.[24] Sanders also plans to establish The Sanders Institute, which will focus on issues he believes the "corporate media" has failed to focus on. The agenda will include "the disappearing middle class, 'massive' income inequality, horrific levels of poverty and problems affecting seniors and children."[24]
Noam Chomsky said in a May 2017 BBC interview that the Sanders campaign was the most remarkable thing about the 2016 election because of Sanders not accepting money from business people or corporations.[227]
Effect of the Sanders campaign on the Democratic party
Many political experts say that Sanders' campaign made both the Clinton campaign and the Democratic party more progressive.[228] After ending his presidential campaign, Sanders' ideas of national single-payer health-care program, his $15-an-hour minimum wage support, free college tuition and many of the other campaign platform issues have been becoming more popular.[229] Some former staffers created the political action committee Brand New Congress which aimed at looking for younger people to run for office.[230]
Sanders had been asked many times if he would run for president again in the 2020 presidential election.[238] Sanders would respond by stating "it is much too early to talk about that", but refused to rule out a possible second presidential campaign.[238]
After a poll was made in February 2017, 20% of Democratic voters wanted Sanders to be the party's nominee in the 2020 presidential election, leading Hillary Clinton at 17% and Elizabeth Warren at 15%.[239] In March 2017, at 14%, Sanders was the Democratic voters front-runner for the Democratic nomination in 2020, beating Michelle Obama at 11%.[240] In September 2017, at a polling of 28%, Sanders remained the lead candidate for the Democratic Party nominee in the 2020 election beating Warren, former Vice PresidentJoe Biden and Senator from CaliforniaKamala Harris.[241] In most of the 2018 polls, Sanders leading the nomination in second place, behind former Vice President Biden.[242][243] During the 2019 debate season, Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Biden are seen as the top candidates in the primaries.[244]
In January 2018, Sanders created a team of political experts to see if it would be a good idea to run again in the 2020 presidential election.[292] In May 2018, former campaign manager Jeff Weaver said Sanders is "actively considering" a second presidential bid.[293] In August 2018, Sanders announced on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that he is not ruling out another run for the presidency in 2020.[294]
In January 2019, it was reported that it is certain Sanders would enter the 2020 primary race following his lead in the contested race and an announcement would be immediate.[295] On February 15, 2019, it was reported that Sanders recorded his presidential announcement video for a 2020 bid.[296] He announced his second presidential bid on February 19, 2019.[26]
Pre-primary campaign trail
On March 2, 2019, Sanders held his first presidential rally in Brooklyn College in New York City.[297] The next day, Sanders held a second rally at Navy Pier in Chicago.[298] About 13,000 people went to the Brooklyn rally and 12,500 went to the Chicago rally.[299]
On March 5, 2019, Sanders signed a formal statement, called a "loyalty pledge", saying that he is a member of the Democratic Party and will serve as a Democrat if elected.[300] The day before, he had signed paperwork to run as an independent for re-election to his Senate seat in 2024.[300] Later that month, national polling had Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden tied for the Democratic primaries.[301]
In January 2020, national polling showed Sanders in second place with 16% behind Biden's 28%, a three point gain for Sanders since last polling.[302]
Debates and forums
On April 6, 2019, Sanders was part of a Fox News town hall that had more than 2.55 million viewers.[303][304] Sanders's appearance on Fox News saw an increase of Fox News viewers by 24% overall and 40% in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic.[305]
During the first four Democratic primary debates, Sanders appeared near the center stage, as one of the highest polling candidates. During the July and September debates, Sanders and Elizabeth Warren were described by commentators as having a "non-aggression pact", talking about progressive positions which were different than positions from the other candidates.[306][307]
Donations raised
Within three-and-a-half hours after his announcement, Sanders had raised over $1 million from small donations from all 50 states, breaking the record held by Senator Kamala Harris after her presidential announcement.[308] Within 12 hours, Sanders had raised over $4 million from 150,000 donors,[309] and in the first 24 hours following his announcement, Sanders raised $5.9 million from 225,000 small donations, with the average donation being $27.[310] In November 2019, Sanders said his campaign had over four million donations from individual donors, the largest than any other presidential candidate in American history.[27]
In January 2020, Sanders raised over $34.5 million during the fourth quarter of 2019, the largest of any 2020 Democratic presidential campaign.[311]
Polling
In April 2019, a national poll had Sanders leading Biden 29% to 24% among Democratic voters for the primaries.[312]
Sanders polled between 15-20% on most national surveys between May and September of 2019. In September 2019, Warren and Sanders remained in a virtual tie for second place.[313] Some surveys showed Warren ahead of Sanders, while others showed Sanders ahead of Warren.[313]
National surveys of a potential general election matchup with Donald Trump showed Sanders leading by an average of 6.5% as of September of 2019, compared to a 11.7% lead for Biden and a 5% lead for Warren.[314] The average of polls in New Hampshire in August and September of 2019 showed a virtual tie between Sanders, Warren, and Biden.[315] After constantly being behind Warren and Biden in the polls, in November 2019 Sanders saw a rise in polls beating Warren for the second place spot behind Biden.[316]
In January 2020, an Iowa poll found Sanders tied for first place behind Biden and Pete Buttigieg with 23%.[317] The same poll found Sanders in first place in New Hampshire with 27% and Biden in second with 25%.[317] A few weeks later, Sanders was leading in a nationwide poll with 27% against Biden's 24%.[318]
On February 10, 2020 following the Iowa caucuses, a national poll had Sanders leading the race with 25% while Biden fell to 17%.[28] A few weeks later on February 27, a new Fox News national poll showed Sanders at 31% with Biden at 18%.[319] After Super Tuesday in March, Biden began to expand his lead over Sanders.[320]
On February 3, 2020, the Iowa caucuses were held, however, due to an issue with apps used to count the votes and spread the delegate votes, the results were announced the following day.[321] The next day, 71% of the votes were released showing Pete Buttigieg leading Sanders by less than 2%.[322] On February 10, Sanders and Buttigieg asked for a recount.[323] The overall results, Sanders won the popular vote winning 45,842 (26.5%) while Buttigieg won 26.2% of the state delegates equivalents to Sanders' 26.1%.[324] On February 27, Buttigieg was declared the winner of the Iowa caucus despite Sanders winning the popular vote.[325]
On February 11, 2020, Sanders won the New Hampshire primary winning almost 26% of the vote compared to Buttigieg's 24%.[326] On February 23, Sanders won the Nevada caucus in a landslide victory winning 40% of the popular vote and 47% of the county convention delegates.[327] Following the race, Sanders became the Democratic front-runner leading with 34 delegates and nearly 26% of the popular vote.[328] He also became the first presidential candidate, Democrat or Republican, to win the popular vote in the first three primary states in a row.[329] In February 29, Sanders lost the South Carolina primary winning nearly 20% of the vote to Biden's 48%.[330]
Sanders lost the Alaska primary on April 11, 2020 after winning 44.7% of the vote to Biden's 55.3%.[356] Two days later, Sanders lost the Wisconsin primary to Biden with a 63.8% to 30.9% margin.[357]
Ending the campaign
On April 8, 2020 one day after the Wisconsin primary, Sanders ended his campaign. He had not beaten Biden in many primary contests after Super Tuesday.[358] Sanders said that he would stay on the ballot in the remaining states and continue to keep delegates because he wanted to add progressive ideas to the Democratic Party and to Biden's campaign.[359][360] On April 13, Sanders said voters should vote for Biden for President.[33]
In a May 2020 interview, Sanders said that he might run for a third time in 2024 but that it was unlikely.[361]
After Biden won the election, may have joined the cabinet as United States Secretary of Labor in the Biden administration.[363] Sanders said that he would accept the position if Biden offered it to him.[364] He asked Senate allies and labor unions to support him as a possible Labor secretary.[363] In January 2021, Biden picked Mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh, to be Labor Secretary.[365] Biden said he thought about picking Sanders but did not want to risk the Democratic majority in the next Senate.[366]
Personal life
Sanders married Deborah Shiling in 1964.[6] The couple divorced two years later in 1966.[6] He met his second wife, Jane O'Meara, when Sanders became mayor of Burlington, Vermont in 1981.[367] They were married in 1988.[367] Sanders has a son, Levi Sanders, who was born out of wedlock with his domestic partner Susan Campbell Mott.[6] Sanders and Mott were partners only one year before splitting in 1969.[367] Sanders has three step-children from O'Meara: Dave, Carina and Heather Driscoll. He thinks of them as his own children.[367] His brother, Larry, was a Green PartyCounty Councillor representing East Oxford in England until his retirement in 2013.[368]
Sanders says he is "proud to be Jewish" but is not very religious.[369] He likes Pope Francis. Sanders says he feels "very close to the teachings of Pope Francis,". He calls the pope "incredibly smart and brave".[369]
In 2016 and 2017, Sanders had earnings of just over $1 million, mostly royalties for his published books.[370][371] He and his wife own two houses in Capitol Hill and in Burlington, and a lakefront summer home in North Hero.[372][373][374][375]
In August 2017, Sanders published another political book titled Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution which is aimed to help teenagers to get involve in the political scene.[386] In November 2018, he published another book titled Where We Go From Here, talking about how the aftermath of his 2016 campaign created a progressive movement and what Americans need to do to stand against the Trump presidency.[387]
In December 2016, Sanders had skin cancer removed from his cheek.[390] He made a full recovery the next day.[390]
Sanders had chest pains at a campaign event in Las Vegas on October 1, 2019 and was soon hospitalized.[391] He had surgery because his arteries were blocked.[391] He had two stents planted and recovered from the surgery.[391] Sanders left the hospital on October 4 and his doctors said that Sanders actually had a heart attack.[392]
A few days after returning home, Sanders said that he had been having fatigue and chest discomfort for a month or two before the incident and regretted not going to the hospital beforehand.[393] Sanders participated in the October 15 Democratic debate in Ohio on CNN.[394]
Bank Fraud investigation
In June 2017, the FBI launched an investigation into Sander's wife Jane's involvement in a bank loan for Burlington College of which she was president.[395] This was after Brady Toensing, Donald Trump's campaign chairman in Vermont, accused Sanders of bank fraud.[396] Both CBS and Politico reported that Bernie Sanders was also under investigation,[397] however that was not true.[398] Both Sanders and his wife have hired well known defense lawyers to represent them.[397]
Internet popularity
Sanders and his two presidential campaigns have become popular on the internet and have been made into Internet memes.[399][400] During the 2020 primary season, a screenshot from a fundraising video where Sanders tells the viewers "I am once again asking for your financial support" became a popular meme.[401][402] In March 2020, a video of the Twitch streamer Neekolul wearing a Bernie 2020 shirt lip singing "Oki Doki Boomer" also went viral.[403] In 2021, a picture of Sanders from the inauguration of Joe Biden showing him sitting in a chair wearing mittens and a jacket from the "I am once again asking" meme went viral.[404][405]
After Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential elections, Sanders said that the Democratic Party needs a "series of reforms" and "must break loose from its corporate establishment ties and, once again, become a grass-roots party of working people, the elderly and the poor."[80]
In September 2017, Sanders called Saudi Arabia "an undemocratic country that has supported terrorism around the world, it has funded terrorism. ... They are not an ally of the United States".[422]
In an October 2018 column for The New York Times, Sanders called on the United States to end its backing of the Saudi intervention in Yemen and said Congress should have authorized it first.[423]
In June 2019, Sanders called on Brazilian authorities to release former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from prison and drop all charges against him after leaked documents showed his arrest was politically motivated.[424]
On July 9, 2019, Sanders and Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Earl Blumenauer proposed legislation that would declare climate change a national and international emergency.[425] In September 2019, Sanders said that family planning and controlling overpopulation in third world countries can help fight climate change.[426]
↑Krieg, Gregory (July 9, 2015). "Watch Young Senator Barack Obama Campaign for Bernie Sanders in 2006". mic.com. Retrieved July 20, 2015. Back in March 2006, the future president traveled to Vermont to headline a rally and fundraiser for then-Rep. Bernie Sanders, an independent running for Senate, and Pete Welch, a Democrat seeking election to Sanders's House seat.
↑Totten, Shay (January 15, 2007). "Sanders to push global warming legislation in Senate". Vermont Guardian. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, said Monday he was making good on at least one of a handful of campaign promises — introducing a bill designed to cut U.S. contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade. ... Sanders added that construction of new power plants is "extraordinarily expensive" and he would prefer to see federal funding support used to expand the development of sustainable energy, as well as biofuels.
↑"State Wide Results"(PDF). West Virginia Secretary of State. August 28, 2008. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 26, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
↑Murray, Mark (May 23, 2016). "Meet the Press". NBC. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
↑Jaffe, Sarah (July 14, 2009). "Sanders Schools McCain on Public Healthcare". The Nation. Retrieved October 16, 2013. Senator Bernie Sanders is one of the Senate's fiercest advocates for real healthcare reform that puts Americans, not private insurance companies, first. Recently, Sanders told The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel, '[I]f you are serious about real healthcare reform, the only way to go is single-payer.'