Sen. Bernie Sanders, a longtime independent, said in the Senate on Monday, “Today, I am announcing my intention to seek re-election,” officially beginning his campaign for re-election.
The 82-year-old progressive, who caucuses with Democrats, is running for a fourth six-year term in the U.S. Senate representing the blue state of Vermont.
Sanders, who was the runner-up for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020, is chairman of the Senate’s top health care committee and ranking member of both the Appropriations and Veterans Affairs committees, leading Democrats in the chamber. He is also a member of the leadership team.
“I “Mr. Sanders has been, and if re-elected, is in a strong position to provide the type of support Vermonters need during this difficult time,” an on-camera announcement posted on social media said.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a hearing at the Capitol on June 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
“Together, we have made significant progress in recent years in addressing some very serious challenges. But if we are to become the nation, the nation our people deserve, we must We need to do more.”
The senator has long worked to shift the Democratic Party to the left, pushing for trillions of dollars in spending in the first two years of President Biden’s administration as the country recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. But his efforts to pass legislation that would expand Medicare and weaken the filibuster failed.
But Mr. Sanders has also sought to find compromises with moderate members of the Democratic conference and, at times, with the Republican minority.
While an ally of Biden, Sanders has been a vocal critic of the White House and Democrats in recent months over their push to provide aid to Israel fighting Hamas in the Gaza war.
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Sanders pointed to the bloody attack by Hamas in October that killed 1,200 Israelis and acknowledged that “Israel has an absolute right to protect itself from this terrorist attack.”
“But we do not have the right, and we do not have the right, to wage war against the entire Palestinian people,” he added, adding that there is no right to wage war against the entire Palestinian people, citing the protests in Gaza where more than 34,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed. He pointed to the Israeli war. “U.S. tax dollars should not be funneled to the extremist Netanyahu regime to continue its devastating war against the Palestinian people.”
Sanders is a former socialist mayor of Burlington, Vermont’s largest city, and served as a member of the House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate in 2006.
He narrowly lost to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, and was the last candidate to face Biden in the 2020 nomination race.
Sen. Bernie Sanders campaigns in Las Vegas ahead of the Democratic presidential caucuses on February 21, 2020. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Democrats currently hold a 51-49 majority in the U.S. Senate, but Republicans see this year’s Senate situation in their favor, saying Democrats will defend 23 of the 34 seats at stake.
Republicans aim to flip six key Senate seats in November
Three of the seats are in red states Ohio, Montana and West Virginia that were won by former President Trump in 2020, and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for re-election. Five additional states are in key battleground states for the general election.
Democrats are also defending an open seat in Blue Maryland, where popular former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is running for Senate.
Sen. Bernie Sanders has criticized the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war against Hamas. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin, File)
The Vermont seat is not a consideration as Sanders seeks re-election, and Sanders is expected to win re-election easily.
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Republican Gerald Malloy, who lost the 2022 Vermont election, is running again.
Sanders framed his re-election effort and emphasized what’s at stake.
“Our country and the world are in an extremely difficult time. And in many ways, this 2024 election is the most impactful election of our lifetimes. The United States will continue to function as a democracy. Or will we move towards an authoritarian” form of government? ” asked the senator.
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