Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign
The 2020 presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders was an election campaign from the junior United States senator from Vermont. It began with Sanders's formal announcement on February 19, 2019. The announcement followed widespread speculation that he would run again after running unsuccessfully in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries.
For his 2016 campaign, see Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign
- U.S. Senator from Vermont
(2007–present) - U.S. Representative from Vermont's at-large congressional district (1991–2007)
- Mayor of Burlington (1981–1989)
Withdrawn
February 19, 2019
April 8, 2020[1]
Ben Cohen (national co-chair)[4]
Ro Khanna (national co-chair)[4]
Nina Turner (national co-chair)[4]
Carmen Yulín Cruz (national co-chair)[4]
Faiz Shakir (campaign manager)[5]
Analilia Mejia (national political director)[6]
Briahna Joy Gray (press secretary)[7]
Chuck Rocha (senior adviser)[8]
Jess Mazour (Iowa political director)[9]
US$108,912,139.51[10] (December 31, 2019)
Sanders consistently polled among the top three Democratic candidates nationally. Sanders raised $6 million in the first 24 hours of his announcement, beating out Kamala Harris' $1.6 million for the highest amount raised on day one. Sanders raised $10 million in the first week since launching his campaign. Within each of the four quarters of 2019, Sanders' campaign raised $18.2 million, $18 million, $25.3 million, and $34.5 million, respectively. In the first, third and fourth quarters, the campaign had the largest haul for any candidate in the Democratic field. In the second quarter, he was outraised by Elizabeth Warren.[12] On September 19, 2019, Sanders' campaign announced that they had reached 1 million individual donors, becoming the fastest presidential campaign in history to do so. As of January 2020, Sanders had raised more money than any other Democratic candidate, and only self-funded billionaires Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg had more cash on hand.[13]
The national co-chairs of the campaign were Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen, U.S. representative Ro Khanna, Our Revolution president Nina Turner, and San Juan mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz.[4] The campaign manager was Faiz Shakir.[5]
Sanders suspended his presidential campaign on April 8, 2020,[1] following a string of losses to his chief rival Joe Biden and a dwindling path to the nomination.[14] He endorsed Biden on April 13.[15]
Background[edit]
Sanders' 2020 campaign was his second run for the Democratic nomination, following his campaign in the 2016 primaries.[16] He entered the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries as a heavyweight candidate, as compared to his prior 2016 underdog campaign.[17] Had Sanders won the presidency, he would have been the first Jewish president and the oldest president at the time of inauguration.
Sanders joined the 2020 race with the advantages of a large online donor base and having his policy ideas accepted into the Democratic mainstream.[18] In a crowded field of primary candidates, Sanders had the largest infrastructure in waiting but was likely to see his supporter base fragmented, as compared to his head-to-head campaign in 2016.[19] While policies such as single-payer healthcare and tuition-free public colleges have entered mainstream Democratic thought since his 2016 campaign, some Democratic leaders doubted the breadth of his appeal.[18]
On February 19, 2019, Sanders announced on Vermont Public Radio that he was running for the 2020 United States presidential election.[20] On the same day, he announced his campaign in an email to his supporters and in an interview with John Dickerson on CBS This Morning.[21]