Here is a look at the life of US Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont and 2016 presidential candidate.
Personal:
Birth date: September 8, 1941
Birth place: Brooklyn, New York
Birth name: Bernard Sanders
Father: Eli Sanders, a paint salesman
Mother: Dorothy (Glassberg) Sanders
Marriages: Jane (O’Meara) Sanders (1988-present); Deborah (Shiling) Messing (married and divorced in the 1960s)
Children: With Susan Mott: Levi; stepchildren with Jane (O’Meara) Sanders: Heather, Carina, David
Education: Attended Brooklyn College, 1959-1960; University of Chicago, B.A. in political science, 1964
Religion: Jewish, though tells the Washington Post he is “not actively involved with organized religion”
Other Facts:
Although Independent in the US Senate, Sanders ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.
His father’s family died in the Holocaust.
During the 1960s, he spent half a year on a kibbutz in Israel.
Was a member of the Young People’s Socialist League while at the University of Chicago.
When Mayor of Burlington, Vermont, was the inspiration for the Progressive Coalition (now the Vermont Progressive Party).
The longest serving independent member of Congress in American history.
He applied for conscientious objector status during the Vietnam War.
Timeline:
August 28, 1963 – Attends the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
1972, 1976, 1986 – Unsuccessful bids for governor of Vermont.
1972, 1974 – Unsuccessful bids for the US Senate.
1981 – Wins the race for mayor of Burlington, Vermont, by 10 votes, running as an independent.
1981-1989 – Serves as Mayor of Burlington for four terms.
1988 – Unsuccessful bid for the US House of Representatives.
1990 – Wins a seat on the US House of Representatives by 16% of the vote.
1991-2007 – Serves eight terms in the US House of Representatives.
1991 – Co-founds the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
2006 – Wins a seat on the US Senate with 65% of the vote.
January 4, 2007-present – Serves in the US Senate.
December 10, 2010 – Holds a filibuster for more than eight hours against the reinstatement of tax cuts formulated during the administration of President George W. Bush. The speech is published in book form in 2011 as “The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class.”
2012 – Wins re-election for a second term in the US Senate. Receives 71% of the vote.
2013-2015 – Serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
April 30, 2015 – Announces his run for the Democratic presidential nomination in an email to supporters and media.
May 1, 2015 – Sanders’ campaign raises more than $1.5 million in its first 24 hours.
January 17, 2016 – Sanders unveils his $1.38 trillion per year “Medicare-for-all” health care plan.
February 9, 2016 – Sanders wins the New Hampshire primary, claiming victory with 60% of the vote. He’s the first Jewish politician to win a presidential nominating contest.
July 12, 2016 – Endorses Hillary Clinton for president.
August 21, 2017 – Sanders pens a commentary article in Fortune magazine outlining his health care proposal “Medicare-for-all.”
November 28, 2017 – Is nominated, along with actor Mark Ruffalo, for a Grammy in the Spoken Word category for their album “Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In.”
