(StraightNews.org) – Senator Bernie Sanders has confirmed he will run for re-election in November. The 82-year-old Independent, who joined the Senate in 2007, is a well-known progressive and fierce critic of America’s healthcare system who regularly pressures drug companies to lower prices.
Raised in a working-class Jewish home in Brooklyn, New York, Sanders recently lashed out at the Israeli government and accused it of committing “ethnic cleansing” in the Gaza Strip. Addressing the student campus protests across the country, Mr. Sanders said he holds Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for a death toll Hamas claims has topped 30,000 civilians.
In February, the Vermont Senator called for an end to Netanyahu’s leadership and said the US should not provide further funding for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Senator Sanders also takes a progressive position on climate change and describes it as the biggest national security threat facing the United States. He advocates for universal free healthcare, free college education, and a 32-hour working week.
On foreign policy, the veteran Congressman frequently encourages international cooperation but received criticism when he cautioned against Islamophobia immediately after the ISIS attacks in Paris in 2015.
While running for President in 2016 and 2020, Sanders was seen as a representative of left-wing views during presidential debates. He came second to Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries of 2016 and second again to Joe Biden in 2020.
His political career began in 1972 when he stood for Governor of Vermont as a candidate for the Liberty Union Party.
In 1981, Sanders enjoyed his first significant electoral success in becoming Mayor of Burlington, where he remained until 1989. Two years later, he entered the US House of Representatives as the first independent to do so since Frazier Reams in 1952.
While confirming he would seek another Senate term, Sanders ruled out a presidential run. In April, he affirmed his support of President Biden and urged progressives to unite against Donald Trump. He accuses the former President of undermining American democracy.
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