Bernie Sanders Running for Fourth Term at 82 Years Old

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) outlines his priorities during an interview with the Associated
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Nick Gilbertson

Eighty-two-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced Monday he will seek another term in office.

Sanders took to X to share that he is running for reelection.

“Let me thank the people of Vermont, from the bottom of my heart, for giving me the opportunity to serve in the United States Senate. It has been the honor of my life,” he said. “Today, I am announcing my intention to seek another term.”

Sanders, who will turn 83 before the November election, would be 89 by the end of his fourth term in January 2031, should he win reelection.

In his announcement video, Sanders argued for codifying “Roe v. Wade into national law,” “making sure all public colleges and universities are tuition-free,” and against funding for Israel in its war with Hamas.

The filing period for the August 13 primaries in the state opened in late April, and the deadline is May 30.

Sanders easily won the Democratic nomination in 2018 with 94 percent of the vote and went on to win the general election handily against that year’s Republican nominee, Lawrence Zupan, and a number of third-party candidates.

Republican combat veteran Gerald Malloy, who was the 2022 Republican nominee for Senate in the Green Mountain State, is running again this cycle.

Malloy sought former Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-VT) seat but lost to Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) by a 40-point margin in the general election.

The far-left Sen. Sanders was first elected in the 2006 midterm elections and enters his third reelection bid as arguably the most prominent progressive in the nation after making strong bids for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020. In 2016, Sanders came in second to now twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The final delegate count was 2,811 for Clinton and 1,879 for Sanders, as the vast majority of super delegates went to Clinton.

He placed second in 2020 as well, earning 1,119 delegates to Joe Biden’s 2,739.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.