Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the longest-serving independent in American history, will seek a 4th term in the US Senate later this year.
The 82-year-old Democratic socialist had been coy about his plans for months. He is the last US senator whose term ends in 2024 to announce whether or not he would seek reelection. He is the second-oldest member of the Senate, behind 90-year-old Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa.
Sanders is immensely popular in Vermont and is all but guaranteed to be reelected in November. Though he is a registered independent, he is likely to have the support of the state Democratic party as well.
His longshot 2016 presidential campaign against Hillary Clinton helped ignite the modern-day progressive movement, paving the way for figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the “The Squad” while helping to steer the Democratic Party in a leftward direction.
Sanders ran for president again in 2020, ultimately coming up short to Joe Biden and dropping out of the race weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic.
Long an outside agitator, Sanders has, in recent years, become a kingmaker in progressive politics and an important institutional player in the US Senate.
Since the beginning of Biden’s presidency, Sanders has served as the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and later the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
That’s allowed him to make his mark on major party-line legislation while pushing for transformative progressive policies, including a 32-hour workweek and a $17 federal minimum wage.
In recent months, Sanders — the Jewish son of a Polish immigrant — has become the Senate’s lead critic of Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza, where he’s pushed to place conditions on US aid to Israel.
