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The 80-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders has not ruled out running for president in 2024, should President Joe Biden not seek re-election.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Sanders’ 2020 Campaign Manager Faiz Shakir wrote a memo telling allies that the Vermont progressive would consider a third bid for the White House.
‘In the event of an open 2024 Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Sanders has not ruled out another run for president, so we advise that you answer any questions about 2024 with that in mind,’ Shakir wrote.
The 80-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders has not ruled out running for president in 2024, should President Joe Biden not seek re-election. Sanders attends a Senate hearing in February
The 79-year-old Biden has long said he’ll run for re-election – though recent polling showed about one-in-five Americans were doubtful he’d complete his first term.
On the other hand, in May 2020, the defeated Sanders said the chances of him running for the White House again were ‘very, very slim.’
Sanders, an independent and self-proclaimed democratic-socialist, first ran for the White House in the 2016 Democratic primary against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Sanders overperformed against Clinton, who was the heir-apparent for the nomination, after losing the 2008 primary to then Sen. Barack Obama, who went on to win two terms in the White House.
He went into the 2020 cycle as one of the frontrunners, alongside then former Vice President Biden.
Sanders came in second place behind now Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in the Iowa caucuses and went on to win the New Hampshire primary and the Nevada caucuses.
2016: Sen. Bernie Sanders launched his first bid for the White House during the 2016 cycle and overperformed against the eventual Democratic nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
However, Biden won South Carolina’s first-in-the-south primary – aided by the endorsement of the House’s No. 3 Democrat, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn.
Moderate candidates including Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke threw their weight behind Biden in advance of Super Tuesday, allowing him to take the delegate lead from those contests and eventually forcing the more leftist Sanders out of the race.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, another progressive, stayed in the race beyond Super Tuesday.
Former Republican President Donald Trump, playing armchair quarterback, would often blame Warren for splitting the progressive vote with Sanders, while Biden received the support of most mainstream Democrats – allowing him to win the nomination.
Shakir’s memo was written to assist 2022 candidates in navigating Sanders’ support for their candidacies – with some rivals using his backing against progressives in Democratic primaries.
2020: Sen. Bernie Sanders was one of the Democratic frontrunners when he launched his 2020 bid, but was eventually thwarted by now President Joe Biden, who benefited from several moderate candidates getting out of the race in advance of Super Tuesday
‘Sen. Sanders is an independent and an avowed Democratic Socialist. Why are you accepting his endorsement?’ Shakir wrote as one of the questions Sanders-backed candidates could contend with.
The proposed answer, he suggested was, ‘Sen. Sanders is putting forward an extremely popular vision for the Democratic Party that will win back critical support that we have lost.’
‘In fact, Bernie wants to build power for the working class and take on the corporate socialism that our political system currently favors,’ the political operative continued.
The memo also advised candidates on what to say if they were asked if they’d support a 2024 Sanders presidential run.
Shakir said they should point out that ‘Sen. Sanders is focused on helping Joe Biden have a successful presidency.’
‘As Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, no one fought harder for the president’s policy agenda than Bernie. He traveled to Republican Congressional Districts last summer to promote Build Back Better. Unfortunately, that legislation was stopped by corporate Democrats,’ Shakir wrote.
The memo also said that Sanders is open to endorsing more 2022 candidates and would go on the road and campaign for them.
Source: Daily Mail
