20 Democrats who are likely to run in 2020

7. Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat. He is currently one of two independent politicians in the Senate, one with such a strong base of support and political posture that he’s held on to his Senate spot for Vermont since 2007. For someone working outside of the standard two-party system, that’s pretty remarkable.

Sanders, as you likely know already, ran for the Democratic nomination in 2016. He made what was, for many, a surprising amount of headway before Hillary Clinton took the spot instead. Even then, Sanders made a name for himself on the national stage and became a progressive darling.

Could he make a more successful bid for the nomination in 2020? Elections, polling, and other reports indicate that the base of Democrat-friendly voters is shifting farther left than before, meaning that an uber-progressive such as Sanders could be pretty compelling for Americans nationwide. Of course, that sort of polarization could make Sanders unpalatable for people on the other side of the political spectrum.

How do we know that Sanders might be considering another try at the Oval Office? He’s been speaking of “political revolution” and single-payer healthcare in a way that, to certain observers at least, sounds singularly presidential. It’s worth considering his monumental ability to fundraise and generate interest, too. Someone like Elizabeth Warren or Joe Biden would do well to be careful around Sanders.

But, is he too loud and divisive for party bigwigs? Like for other left-leaning Democrats, a Sanders nomination is evocative of the Democratic Party’s looming struggle – should they move ever farther left, or back to the center?