The Battle For Presidency - Bernie Sanders

In the first few months of 2016, the year of the next US presidential election, much of the talk has been regarding the Republican Party, the battle between Donald Trump and the other candidates, and just Donald Trump in general.
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Voter's hand holding election ballot for the U.S. Democratic Party, inserting the vote into the ballot box. Concept image of American democracy and the U.S. election process. Voters making their selection and putting in the voting ballot for the liberal Democratic Party. Photographed in horizontal format.
Voter's hand holding election ballot for the U.S. Democratic Party, inserting the vote into the ballot box. Concept image of American democracy and the U.S. election process. Voters making their selection and putting in the voting ballot for the liberal Democratic Party. Photographed in horizontal format.

In the first few months of 2016, the year of the next US presidential election, much of the talk has been regarding the Republican Party, the battle between Donald Trump and the other candidates, and just Donald Trump in general. In fact, every time the news comes on there is a new story about Donald Trump whether it regards his campaign or not. As a result, although it has been discussed, the Democratic Party has been left somewhat in the cold.

Hilary Clinton, the former First Lady and Secretary of State, was the first to announce that she was in the running to be the lead candidate for the Democratic Party. However, just 18 days later and nearly a year ago, a formal announcement was made that saw Bernie Sanders enter the frame. Since, many have come and gone in the shape of Jim Webb, Lincoln Chafee and Martin O'Malley leaving Clinton and Sanders as the two main candidates.

In recent months we have seen the toing and froing between the two with both claiming a number of primaries. 'Super Tuesday' saw Clinton win seven of the eleven primaries including Alabama, Georgia and Texas with Sanders claiming four which included Colorado and Oklahoma. Some have been extremely one sided and some have gone down to the wire; Clinton claimed a big victory in Iowa after winning by just 0.3%.

Everyone has been hearing about Donald Trump's past, present and future, Hilary Clinton is well-known but how did Bernie Sanders reach the point where he is now? Of course, he is a well-known figure but lets take a look at his career to date and at the journey which could end with his becoming the President of the United States of America.

Born on September 8th, 1941 in Brooklyn, Bernie Sanders graduated at the University of Chicago before moving to Vermont to pursue carpentry as well as being a documentary filmmaker. His political career started 35 years ago in 1981 as he scraped the Mayor of Burlington election. This was a big step for Sanders as it was the largest city in Vermont and it could have so easily been so different as he won the election by just 10 votes. Burlington was transformed and began a number of programs to reduce prices of housing, change tax laws, protect the environment and even progress women's rights.

In 1990, Sanders made the move to become Vermont's member in Congress after lecturing at the John F Kennedy School of Government. He won with 56% of the votes becoming the first independent candidate to do so before then going on to win the next seven elections meaning that he held the post for 16 years. Instead of going for an eight time, he decided to turn his attentions to the Senate where he became the United States Senator from Vermont in 2007.

At 74 years of age, Sanders still holds this post today although obviously attempting to become the next President. His successful career means that he now has a net worth of $750,000 and is thought to earn around $175,000 per year. Much of his time in politics has been spent attempting to bridge the income and wealth gaps as well as shrinking the middle class. Sanders is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, which saw him pass an important legislation regarding the reform of the VA health care system in 2014, as well as serving on the Environment and Public Works Committee. The latter has seen him focus on rebuilding important infrastructure in addition to tackling the ever-growing problem of global warming. His work doesn't stop there though as he also has a hand in energy, health, education and pensions where his work on fossil fuels and affordable health care has been complemented.

The result of the campaigns remain to be seen but one thing is for certain, it is going to be very interesting from here on out both in the Democratic Party and in the Republican Party.

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