Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) suggested that he would “probably” not run for reelection in six years, when he will be 89 years old.
The 83-year-old senator, most known for his embrace of socialist economic policies and for being snubbed (and even sabotaged) by the Democrat establishment during his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, is among the oldest members of the Senate.
Those include:
- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), 83
- Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), 81
- Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), 81
- Sen. Angus King (I-ME), 80
- Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), 80
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), 78
- Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), 78
- Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), 77
Sanders has been in the Senate since 2006 and won reelection in November. He served eight House terms before that, entering Congress in 1991.
“I’m 83 now. I’ll be 89 when I get out of here. You can do the figuring. I don’t know, but I would assume, probably, yes,” Sanders told reporters Tuesday when asked if this term would be his last.
Sanders ran for president twice as a Democrat, but the Democrat establishment defeated him twice, including in 2016, with two-time failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. WikiLeaks discoveries revealed the DNC actively undercut Sanders’ campaign to swing the nomination to Clinton.
He ran again in 2020. President Joe Biden won the nomination after Rep. James Clyburn notoriously threw his weight behind the candidate from Delaware, snubbing Sanders and preventing the party from moving in a populist direction.
Politico reported on Sanders’ position within the party post-2020:
Sanders helped move the Democratic caucus in the Senate to the left but comes to this time in his political career with concerns about the future of progressive ideals in American politics. After Donald Trump’s victory in last month’s presidential election, Sanders called out Democrats for abandoning working-class people.
He reiterated that assessment today: “The average American is hurting,” he said. “You’ve got to recognize the reality of what’s going on. And I’m not sure that enough Democrats are doing that.”
Sanders added that many Americans appreciate what the Biden administration has done to lower drug prices and improve infrastructure. But he continues to rail against currents in the party that he says are out of touch with the American working class.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.