Bernie Sanders.
Photo: Win McNamee/2014 Getty Images
The race to be the Democratic nominee in 2016 is about to get slightly more competitive. Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats, is expected to announce on Thursday that he’s running for president. According to VPR News, Vermont’s public radio station, he’ll release a short statement then hold a campaign kickoff event in his home state in several weeks. Previously, Sanders, who considers himself a “Democratic Socialist,” said he was considering running as a third-party candidate. Instead, he’ll become the first Democrat to challenge Hillary Clinton. According to a CNN/ORC poll conducted earlier this month, he’s only trailing her by 64 percentage points.
