Bernie Sanders kicks off second bid for White House

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday joined a crowded field seeking the Democratic presidential nomination and pledged to fight "the powerful special interests that dominate our economic and political life''.

Sanders, who lost the nomination to Hillary Clinton in 2016, enters the race with a solid core of supporters and proven fundraising ability. But at 77, Sanders himself has said he may be perceived as too old for the job, and some analysts say primary voters may want a fresh face to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020.

"We began the political revolution in the 2016 campaign, and now it's time to move that revolution forward," Sanders said, announcing his campaign in an interview with Vermont Public Radio. "I wanted to let the people of the state of Vermont know about this first. And what I promise to do is, as I go around the country, is to take the values that all of us in Vermont are proud of — a belief in justice, in community, in grassroots politics, in town meetings — that's what I'm going to carry all over the country."

Sanders, a self-proclaimed "democratic socialist" and independent who typically votes with Democrats in the Senate, is the sixth senator to seek the Democratic nomination and the 12th to plan a White House run.

Other US senators seeking the Democratic nomination are Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

"All candidates run because they think they have a reasonable shot to win and figure, "Why not?'" Robert Erikson, a political science professor at Columbia University, told China Daily. "Bernie has a lot of competition on the left. Voters being familiar with him could work for or against him. We just don't know the answers to these questions."

Sanders outlined his positions in speeches prior to announcing his candidacy. He plans to support Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, a $15 minimum wage, free college tuition, higher taxes on top earners and a top tax rate of 77 percent for estates over $1 billion.

Sanders's announcement drew a quick response from Trump's campaign.

Kayleigh McEnany, Trump campaign press secretary, said Americans "will reject the agenda of sky-high tax rates".

The US economy is strong, the stock market robust and unemployment is at record lows, including among blacks and Hispanics. Trump is likely to run on his success in sparking economic growth with tax cuts, increased security along the border with Mexico and, if an agreement is reached, a trade deal with China.

Sanders built a solid grassroots campaign in 2016, raising about $230 million from 2.5 million donors. He declined support from political action committees and carried 22 states in the primary election.

In April 2015, when Sanders announced his previous candidacy, he trailed Clinton by nearly 57 percentage points in the polls. He closed the gap to single digits by the following spring and established himself as a powerhouse who many cite as the source of the Democratic Party's shift left in the current election cycle.

"In an age of President Trump, many Democrats might be looking for a pure-of-heart angry warrior figure in their candidate — someone with a distinct brand of politics that hasn't been formed solely in reaction to the president. Sanders certainly is that," Clare Malone wrote on FiveThirtyEight, a polling and politics website.

In the 2016 primaries, Sanders outperformed Clinton among young voters and voters in rural areas. Sanders won primaries in states with large white populations, including Michigan and Wisconsin, states Clinton lost to Trump in the general election.

Clinton got about 3 million more votes than Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primaries, but the issues Sanders raised during the campaign forced the party to re-examine its stance on economic issues.

"A Gallup survey found that 2016 was the first year in which Democrats felt more positively about socialism than they did about capitalism," Malone said. "Sanders's message might well have seeped in."

Sanders also may have an advantage in states with early contests, such as Iowa and New Hampshire. Both are small states where local activists can help build momentum.

Clinton defeated Sanders in the 2016 Iowa caucuses by 49.8 percent to 49.6 percent. Sanders easily carried New Hampshire, defeating Clinton 60.14 percent to 37.68 percent.

"But Sanders's 2016 success could also be the makings of his greatest 2020 challenge," FiveThirtyEight said. "When he entered the race in 2015, it was in large part to push his progressive left ideas. Other politicians picked up on the fact that Democratic voters liked the big ideas that Sanders was selling and now the 2020 field is packed with contenders who are campaigning on platforms similar to his 2016 campaign."

However, ideological purity may not be the first concern of primary voters. A recent Monmouth University poll found that 56 percent of Democrats and left-leaning independents sought a candidate who can run a strong campaign against Trump, even if they disagree with the candidate on some issues.

"What electability actually means in this context is quite vague, but if it becomes a proxy for a centrist candidate palatable to swing voters, Sanders might be out of luck," Malone said. "Or even if voters decide that 'electable' means more left, Sanders could lose out to new faces trying to sell their pragmatic progressivism."

Sanders was elected to the US Senate in 2006 after serving more than 10 years representing Vermont in the US House of Representatives. A native New Yorker, Sanders lost several statewide campaigns in the 1970s before being elected mayor of Burlington, Vermont, by 10 votes.

Contact the writer at scottreeves@chinadaily.com