Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Monday that he would seek a fourth term in the US Senate, calling the upcoming election cycle “the most important national election in our lifetimes.”
At 82, the Vermont progressive – an independent who caucuses with Democrats – is the second-oldest member of the Senate. If reelected, he would be in his late 80s at the end of a potential fourth term.
“We must fight to make sure that we remain a democracy, not an authoritarian society,” Sanders said in a statement. “We must fight to make sure that we have a government which represents the working families of our country, not the billionaire class and wealthy campaign contributors.”
Senate Democrats face a tough election map this cycle and are largely playing defense on a wide swath of competitive seats that could hand control of the chamber to Republicans. Also looming large is 2024 the presidential election, which Sanders has repeatedly emphasized with warnings about former president Donald Trump’s reelection bid.
Still, in his release Monday, Sanders stressed a key point of difference with President Joe Biden: US involvement in the ongoing war in Gaza.
“Israel had the absolute right to defend itself against this terrorist attack, but it did not and does not have the right to go to war against the entire Palestinian people, which is exactly what it is doing,” Sanders said in the release. “In my view, U.S. tax dollars should not be going to the extremist Netanyahu government to continue its devastating war against the Palestinian people.”
Sanders is finishing his third term in the Senate after 16 years in the House, making him the longest-serving independent member in Congress in US history.
