Bernie Sanders

Bernard Sanders was born on September 8, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Brooklyn College before graduating from the University of Chicago in 1964 with a bachelor's degree in political science. After moving to Vermont in 1968, Sanders worked as a filmmaker and writer. His political career began with his election as Mayor of Burlington in 1981, a position he held for four terms, where he focused on urban renewal and affordable housing. Sanders was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1990 as an independent, serving for sixteen years before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006. As the longest-serving independent in the history of the U.S. Congress, he formally remains unaffiliated with any political party but caucuses with the Democratic Party. Throughout his tenure, he has held several key leadership roles, including chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. He is widely recognized for his two campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020.

Sanders advocates for a Medicare for All single-payer healthcare system, treating healthcare as a fundamental human right. His economic platform centers on reducing wealth and income inequality by raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and implementing progressive taxation on corporations and the wealthy. In response to the climate crisis, he supports the Green New Deal to transition the U.S. to renewable energy. His education policy includes making public colleges and universities tuition-free and canceling student debt. In foreign policy, he emphasizes diplomacy and international cooperation while consistently opposing military interventionism and advocating for a reduction in military spending.