Bernie Sanders: Intrepid

Introduction

Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign was one of the most revolutionary in US political history. It brought millions together against the political establishment, bigotry, racism, sexism and homophobia. Over 12 million Americans voted for the Vermont senator in the Democratic primaries against Hillary Clinton. Despite Sanders being agonisingly close to clinching the nomination, former Secretary of State Clinton went into the final stretch of the race against controversial mogul Donald Trump. Clinton went on to win the popular vote in the presidential race, but lose the electoral college vote to Trump.

Despite Sanders' early exit from the race, many continued to throw their support behind him. One example is the #BernieorBust campaign, where many refused to vote at all, or write-in Sanders. Green Party nominee Jill Stein, whose political views most closely aligned with Sanders' out of the presidential candidates, also received a boost in votes after his defeat.

Sanders' campaign inspired many to get involved in politics for the first time, and refreshed others' enthusiasm that there was still hope for modern politics. His policies show a likely future for US politics, as, in the primaries, he led Clinton in voters under 55 years old, and polling showed that he would most likely have beaten Donald Trump if he had been the Democratic nominee. He continues to serve for Vermont in the senate, and has not ruled out a second run for president in 2020. On 23 June 2016, in a speech titled Where we go from here, Sanders said, "Election days come and go but what is much more important is that political and social revolutions continue." His campaign spawned a new party, Our Revolution, and a book of the same name. The most important legacy of his campaign, however, is the inspiration of millions of people, not only in the USA but worldwide, to get up and fight the inequality which is rife in our society today.