Bernie Sanders announced his bid as a 2020 presidential candidate on Feb. 19 through a video posted to Twitter.
In the video, he outlined his platform for the upcoming 2020 presidential election It includes free college tuition, a Medicare for all plan, raising the national minimum wage to $15, ending U.S. involvement in the Yemen War, immigration reform, reducing economic inequality, and creating solutions to climate change.
In 2016, Bernie campaigned for these issues as well. Once considered a political outsider, he is now a face of the Democratic party, despite serving in the Senate as an Independent since 2005. In fact, many of his ideas, once thought to be extreme and unattainable, have now become popular stances amongst Democrats.
His effort in 2016 certainly popularized his name and ideas, but his campaign promises are no longer unique. Many of his 2016 promises are now supported by other Democratic candidates.
The Medicare for all plan, for example, was considered an extreme idea of Bernie’s last election. Now the plan is popular amongst the left. Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand have all expressed their support for the plan.
Following his loss to Hillary Clinton in 2016, can Bernie Sanders win the Democratic nomination in 2020? It is definitely possible. Early polls have labelled him a frontrunner in the race. Unlike 2016, he will not be racing to catch up. He has momentum now; his challenge this time around is maintaining it.
I was a fan of Bernie Sanders in 2016, but not because I thought he could fulfill all of his promises, or even that he should fulfill all of them. I believed that his platform was a step in the right direction. As already stated, he popularized several issues which are now hotly debated topics.
I am not surprised that Bernie is running again in 2020, and I think he does have a shot at winning the Democratic nomination. However, despite supporting him three years ago, I am not sure I will be doing the same this campaign season, for the same reasons I believe many other young voters may vote against him.
With so many fresh faces such as Kamala Harris in the Democratic spotlight, betting on Bernie this early is simply an uninformed decision. However, I am excited to see how this race ends.
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