Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders is an American politician and activist who is the senior United States senator from Vermont. Sanders is the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history but has a close relationship with the Democratic Party, having caucused with House and Senate Democrats for most of his congressional career and sought the party's presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020.
Some of the key events about Bernie Sanders
- 1971Was asked to leave a commune in Vermont for being too argumentative and not contributing enough to the workload
- 1974Failed in his first attempt to win public office, receiving only 2% of the vote for U.S. Senate
- 1981Elected mayor of Burlington, Vermont, as an independent, defeating the incumbent Democratic mayor
- 1988Married Jane O'Meara Driscoll, his long-time partner
- 1988Divorced from his first wife, Deborah Shiling Messing, after 18 years of marriage
- 1990Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first independent elected to the chamber in 40 years
- 1991Co-founded the Congressional Progressive Caucus
- 1991Criticized for voting against a resolution supporting Operation Desert Storm in Iraq
- 2006Elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming Vermont's junior Senator
- 2010Delivered an 8.5-hour filibuster speech against the extension of Bush-era tax cuts
- 2015Introduced the College for All Act, proposing free tuition at public colleges and universities
- 2016Ran a notable presidential campaign, winning 23 primaries and caucuses
- 2016Lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Hillary Clinton despite a strong grassroots campaign
- 2016Faced criticism for not conceding to Hillary Clinton earlier in the primary process
- 2016Campaign was fined $14,500 by the Federal Election Commission for accepting illegal in-kind foreign contributions
- 2017Introduced the Medicare for All bill in the Senate
- 2019Cut hours for campaign staff to equivalent of $15/hour wage after criticism for paying less than his proposed minimum wage
- 2020Won the New Hampshire Democratic primary and Nevada caucuses during his second presidential campaign
- 2020Suspended his presidential campaign after falling behind Joe Biden in the Democratic primaries
- 2022Voted for a bill that included funding for a controversial fighter jet program he had previously opposed
Disclaimer: This material is written based on information taken from open sources, including Wikipedia, news media, podcasts, and other public sources.