The rise of Donald Trump to power in the United States has turned many people’s attention towards upcoming elections. In the absence of impeachment proceedings, that’s the most surefire way to rein the White House back in and keep Donald Trump from continuing on with his aggressive, divisive policy campaigns.
There’s not a clear frontrunner in the Democratic race to challenge Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election yet, although in the meantime, he’s continued to campaign via a string of rallies held around the country. Before we get to the 2020 election, though, we’ve got the midterm elections to get through.
In a move that’s no doubt reassuring for many, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont formally announced Monday that he intends to seek re-election to the Senate later this year.
Sanders was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 and remains, at present, widely popular. Data released by Morning Consult earlier this year had the senator with a remarkable 72 percent approval rating, making him the most popular member of the U.S. Senate. On the other side of the spectrum in that data was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who managed only a 34 percent approval rating and was the least popular senator.
Much of Sanders’ latest strength is drawn from his 2016 campaign for president. He didn’t make it past the Democratic presidential primary stage, losing to Hillary Clinton and eventually asking his followers to support her, but he attracted wide support anyway.
Whether or not he will decide to run for president again come 2020 remains to be seen; as we await an answer to that question, Sanders continues to seek to establish himself as a staunch opponent of the Trump administration.
In his Monday re-election bid announcement posted to Twitter, Sanders commented in part as follows:
‘We have a president who is not only a pathological liar, but someone who is trying to win votes by dividing our nation up based on the color of our skin, our country of origin, our religion, our gender or our sexual orientation. If reelected, you can be sure that I will continue to be the fiercest opponent in the Senate to the rightwing extremism of Trump and the Republican leadership.’
The question is just if he will turn that opposition into a presidential candidacy. Sanders certainly has a lot to bring to the table in terms of ideas; just this past Sunday, he appeared on Meet The Press and lambasted the “establishment” approach, saying:
‘Establishment Democrats don’t generate excitement, and I think when you have progressive candidates, and we have seen this now for the last year and a half since Trump has been elected, we have seen progressive candidates see voter turnout go up because the people in their communities know that it’s time to stand up and fight.’
Sanders, as he has communicated time and time again in the past, told host Chuck Todd that he believes Democrats have to address real issues that working families in the United States care about on a daily basis to get ahead. Sanders included a message like that in his Monday campaign announcement, too. Whether or not Democrats will listen to him remains to be seen.
Featured Image via Gary Miller/FilmMagic
