Bernard Sanders (born September 8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who has been a member of the U.S. Congress since 1991.
First as a representative for the state’s at-large congressional district from 1991 – 2007, and since serving as a junior U.S. senator from Vermont.
What You Want to Know?
Bernie Sanders Net Worth
His independence from political affiliation has given him the status of being the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history, though he has been caucused with House and Senate Democrats for most of his career.
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As of 2023, Bernie Sanders’ net worth is around $3 million. Self-identifying himself as a democratic socialist, the Democratic party leftward shift is ascribed to him.
A presidential hopeful, he lost 2 subsequent bids for the Democratic presidential nomination in preliminaries, finishing on second in both 2016 and 2020.
Bernie Sanders Early Age
Bernard Sanders was born on September 8, 1941, in the Brooklyn suburb of New York City. To an Austrian-Hungarian origin father Elias B.Y. Sanders, who had a Jewish working family.
His mother Dorothy Sanders was born in New York City to a Jewish immigrant family from Poland, finding their roots in Russia.
Adolf Hitler’s election victory and the genocide following it of 50 million, left a deep mark on him. Prompting him to say “that politics is, in fact, very important”, a lesson he learned which got him interested in politics.
Sanders lived in Midwood, Brooklyn, and did his elementary schooling at P.S.197. He also attended Hebrew school and it was in 1954, that his bar mitzvah was performed.
Subsequently attended James Madison High School. While in high school he lost his first election, which was for the student body presidency.
A graduate in Arts from the University Of Chicago in political science, he described the classroom as “boring and irrelevant”, and community rather important to his education.
Bernie Sanders Career
Since his college days, he has been active politically, working for civil rights movements. He sat on sit-ins and rallied against segregated campus housing policy decisions. Eventually, after further protests, University ended racial segregation.
He once went on a flyer putting spree against police brutality, only to be taken down by Chicago police. Along with civil rights activism, he got himself associated with the Student Peace Union working in several peace and antiwar movements.
Bernie Sanders Early years
Sanders returned to New York City, after graduating getting into various professions that as a teacher, psychiatric aide, even carpenter.
In 1968 he settled in Stannard, Vermont lived and worked there before moving to Chittenden County in the mid-’70s.
With Liberty Union Party, an anti-war movement party, he ran unsuccessfully for Vermont governor as well as senator, twice each in 1972, 76 and 1972(special elections),74 respectively.
In 1977 he retired from the party. Also served a stint with Socialist Worker Party as their elector in Vermont during the 1980 presidential election.
After several failed attempts at public office, Sanders won mayoral elections for Burlington in 1980 and went on to serve 4 consecutive terms till 1989. Furthermore decided not to seek a 5th term and became a political science lecturer at Harvard.
Bernie Sanders Congressional Terms
In 1990, Sanders became the first independent since 1952 to be elected to the U.S. House Of Representatives. He served in that position until 2007, winning reelection by a large margin. He co-founded the Congressional Progressive Caucus and chaired it for 8 years.
Sanders ran for senate from Vermont in 2006 and won after democrats extended support to him by not putting any democratic candidate. He won two subsequent reelections in 2012 and 2018, by 71% and 67% votes respectively.
He launched his presidential campaigns for 2016, 20 Democratic presidential nominations, but ended up second both times. He went on to support and campaign for Democratic candidates in the election.
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Conclusion
Bernie Sanders is not a cliche politician, fundamentally disagreeing with his contemporary. Being a democratic ideologue, yet no political affiliation.
He has been raising issues usually ignored by both major political parties and has been critical of their approach and policy all along.
