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$88.0M
NOV 7, 2028Primary Election
Party selects its nominee.
Current roleU.S. Senator
PartyIndependent
Political ideologyDemocratic Socialist
Age84 years old (Sep 8, 1941)
GenderMale
LocationVermont
BackgroundPolitician
EducationJames Madison High School (Brooklyn, New York)
Notable personal detailsBernard “Bernie” Sanders is the senior United States senator from Vermont, serving since 2007, and previously served as Vermont’s at-large U.S. representative (1991–2007) and as mayor of Burlington (1981–1989). He was educated at Brooklyn College and earned a B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1964. Sanders is an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats and has run for the Democratic presidential nomination (2016, 2020).
Supports substantially higher taxes on the wealthy and financial sector (wealth tax, higher estate taxes, financial transaction tax) and uses revenue to expand social programs such as Medicare, housing, child care, and Social Security. Advocates closing tax loopholes for corporations and raising taxes on high incomes and wealth to reduce inequality. Seeks expanded government spending on social programs funded by these tax changes.
Bernie Sanders advocates replacing the current system with a single-payer Medicare for All program that guarantees comprehensive, universal health care as a right and would expand Medicare to cover dental, vision, hearing and prescription drugs with no premiums, copays, or deductibles.
Supports comprehensive immigration reform that creates a swift pathway to citizenship for undocumented residents, expands and protects DACA, ends mass deportations and private detention centers, and rescinds punitive Trump-era border policies while restructuring/demilitarizing immigration enforcement agencies.
Bernie Sanders supports protecting and expanding abortion access, has called for codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law, and has urged ending the Senate filibuster to secure statutory abortion protections. He describes abortion as a constitutional right and opposes state and federal efforts to restrict access.
Supports ambitious, Green New Deal–style climate action including transitioning away from fossil fuels to zero-carbon/renewable energy, large federal investments in clean energy and retrofitting public housing, and aggressive emissions reduction targets. Has sponsored and promoted legislation and campaign initiatives aligned with a comprehensive decarbonization agenda.
Bernie Sanders is in the news for endorsing progressive candidate Analilia Mejia, who won the Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 11th District and is heading into an April 16, 2026 special election. He is also referenced in coverage of Stephen A. Smith floating a possible 2028 presidential run, as an example of how the Democratic Party has historically treated outsider-style candidates.
2024
2026
LatestCycle 2024
Cycle 2026
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Supports universal/expanded background checks, closing the gun-show loophole, banning the sale and distribution of assault-style semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines, and other measures to keep firearms from people with criminal or violent domestic histories. Has co-sponsored federal measures endorsing red-flag/domestic-violence disqualifications and has publicly called for confronting the NRA to enact assault-weapon restrictions.
