Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, 2020

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“	Our campaign is about transforming our country and creating a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice.[1]	”
—Bernie Sanders (April 2019)[2]

Bernie Sanders is an independent member of the U.S. Senate from Vermont who caucuses with the Democratic Party. He formally declared his candidacy for president on February 19, 2019. He suspended his presidential campaign on April 8, 2020.^[3]

He won the popular vote in Iowa and the most delegates in New Hampshire and Nevada.

Sanders has focused his campaign on economic issues, including Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, a $15 minimum wage, expanding the estate tax, limiting the size of banks, and tuition-free college.^[4]

Prior to serving in the U.S. Senate, Sanders was the mayor of Burlington, Vermont, from 1981 to 1989 and a member of the U.S. House from 1991 to 2007.

Democratic pledged delegates by state[edit]

Sanders in the news[edit]

See also: Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing and Editorial approach to story selection for the Daily Presidential News Briefing

This section featured five news stories about Sanders and his presidential campaign. For a complete timeline of Sanders' campaign activity, click here.

• April 8, 2020: Sanders suspended his presidential campaign. He said in a video statement to supporters, “I wish I could give you better news, but I think you know the truth. We are now some 300 delegates behind Vice President Biden and the path toward victory is virtually impossible.” Sanders said he would remain on upcoming primary ballots to win more delegates to influence the party platform at the Democratic National Convention.

• April 7, 2020: Sanders held a livestream discussion on the disproportionate effect the coronavirus pandemic is having on black Americans.

• April 6, 2020: Sanders criticized the Wisconsin Supreme Court for blocking Gov. Tony Evers’ order to postpone in-person voting in the state until June 9. He said his campaign would not conduct traditional GOTV activities in Wisconsin due to public health concerns. “Let’s be clear: holding this election amid the coronavirus outbreak is dangerous, disregards the guidance of public health experts, and may very well prove deadly,” he said in a statement.

• April 4, 2020: The Washington Post reported that Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir and other senior advisers had encouraged Sanders to withdraw from the presidential race.

• April 3, 2020: Sanders released his "Priorities for the Next Coronavirus Relief Package,” which included monthly direct payments of $2,000 to every person in the United States regardless of immigration status. He also called for guaranteed paid medical and sick leave for all workers and hazard pay for essential and frontline workers. He also said the Defense Production Act should be used for the production of personal protective equipment. Sanders called for canceling all student loan payments and suspending monthly payments like rent, mortgages, medical debt, and consumer debt collection.

Biography[edit]

Sanders was born in 1941 in Brooklyn, New York, where he grew up. He earned his B.A. in political science from the University of Chicago in 1964 and went on to lecture at Harvard University and Hamilton College in New York. Sanders has also worked as a carpenter and a journalist.^[5]

After spending six months in a kibbutz (a communal settlement) in Israel, Sanders moved to Vermont in 1968.^[6] In the 1970s, he ran unsuccessfully for governor of Vermont twice and for U.S. Senate twice as a Liberty Union Party candidate. He was elected mayor of Burlington as an independent in 1981, defeating Democratic incumbent Gordon Paquette by a margin of 10 votes, and he served as mayor until 1989.^[7]

During his mayoral tenure, Sanders ran unsuccessful bids for governor and U.S. House as an independent before being elected to the House in 1990. He served in the House until 2007, when he became a member of the U.S. Senate following his election to the chamber the previous year.^[8]

Sanders sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2016, which he lost to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He received around 43 percent of the popular vote in the primaries compared to Clinton's 55 percent, and he received support from 39 percent of delegates at the national convention to Clinton's 60 percent.^[9]

Though Sanders has held elected office as an independent since 1981 and sought the Democratic nomination for president, he identifies as a democratic socialist.^[10]

Campaign staff[edit]

See also: Bernie Sanders presidential campaign staff, 2020, Presidential election key staffers, 2020, and Presidential campaign managers, 2020

The table below shows a sampling of the candidate's 2020 national campaign staff members, including the campaign manager and some senior advisors, political directors, communication directors, and field directors. It also includes each staff member's position in the campaign, previous work experience, and Twitter handle, where available.^[11] For a larger list of national campaign staff, visit Democracy in Action.

Bernie Sanders presidential campaign national staff, 2020
Staff	Position	Prior experience	Twitter handle
Faiz Shakir	Campaign manager	National political director, American Civil Liberties Union	@fshakir
Jeff Weaver	Senior advisor	Campaign manager, Bernie Sanders for President of the United States, 2016	N/A
Chuck Rocha	Senior advisor	Advisor, Bernie Sanders for President of the United States, 2016	@ChuckRocha
Analilia Mejia	Political director	Director, New Jersey Working Families Alliance	N/A
Claire Sandberg	Organizing director	Deputy campaign manager, Abdul El-Sayed for Governor of Michigan, 2018	@clairesandberg
Becca Rast	National field director	Campaign manager, Jess King for Congress, 2018	@beccarast
René Spellman	Deputy campaign manager	Executive, CAA Foundation	N/A
Arianna Jones	Deputy campaign manager and communications director	Senior vice president of PR, Revolution Messaging	@ariannaijones
Ari Rabin-Havt	Deputy campaign manager and chief of staff	Deputy chief of staff, office of Sen. Bernie Sanders	@AriRabinHavt
Briahna Joy Gray	National press secretary	Columnist and political editor, The Intercept, Contributing editor, Current Affairs	@briebriejoy

Campaign finance[edit]

The following chart shows Democratic presidential campaign fundraising, including both total receipts and contributions from individuals, as well as campaign spending. Figures for each candidate run through the end of June 2020 or through the final reporting period during which the candidate was actively campaigning for president. The total disbursements column includes operating expenditures, transfers to other committees, refunds, loan repayments, and other disbursements.^[12]

Satellite spending[edit]

Satellite spending, commonly referred to as outside spending, describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.^[13][14][15]

This section lists satellite spending in this race reported by news outlets in alphabetical order. If you are aware of spending that should be included, please email us.

• Through January 2020, Vote Nurses Values spent $280,000 to support Sanders.^[16]

Democratic presidential primary debates, 2019-2020[edit]

See also: Democratic presidential nomination, 2020

The following table provides an overview of the date, location, host, and number of participants in each scheduled 2020 Democratic presidential primary debate.

2020 Democratic presidential primary debates
Debate	Date	Location	Host	Number of participants
First Democratic primary debate	June 26-27, 2019	Miami, Florida	NBC News, MSNBC, and Telemundo	20 candidates
Second Democratic primary debate	July 30-31, 2019	Detroit, Michigan	CNN	20 candidates
Third Democratic primary debate	September 12, 2019	Houston, Texas	ABC News and Univision	10 candidates
Fourth Democratic primary debate	October 15, 2019	Westerville, Ohio	CNN and The New York Times	12 candidates
Fifth Democratic primary debate	November 20, 2019	Georgia	MSNBC and The Washington Post	10 candidates
Sixth Democratic primary debate	December 19, 2019	Los Angeles, California	PBS NewsHour and Politico	7 candidates
Seventh Democratic primary debate	January 14, 2020	Des Moines, Iowa	CNN and The Des Moines Register	6 candidates
Eighth Democratic primary debate	February 7, 2020	Manchester, New Hampshire	ABC, WMUR-TV, and Apple News	7 candidates
Ninth Democratic primary debate	February 19, 2020	Las Vegas, Nevada	NBC News and MSNBC	6 candidates
Tenth Democratic primary debate	February 25, 2020	Charleston, South Carolina	CBS News and Congressional Black Caucus Institute	7 candidates
Eleventh Democratic primary debate	March 15, 2020	Washington, D.C.	CNN, Univision, and CHC Bold	2 candidates

Campaign ads[edit]

This section shows a sampling of advertisements released to support or oppose this candidate in the 2020 presidential election.

Support[edit]

"Feel the Bern" - Sanders campaign, March 4, 2020

"Protect Social Security" - Sanders campaign, March 4, 2020

"Decimated" - Sanders campaign, March 4, 2020

"Strive" - Sanders campaign, February 26, 2020

"Pramila" - Sanders campaign, February 26, 2020

"Justice" - Sanders campaign, February 25, 2020

"Austerity for Billionaires" - Sanders campaign, February 19, 2020

"Dalhi" - Sanders campaign, February 18, 2020

"Nevada First" - Sanders campaign, February 17, 2020

"Hope" - Sanders campaign, February 1, 2020

"Always Fighting for Us" - Sanders campaign, January 29, 2020

"Billionaires" - Sanders campaign, December 18, 2019

"Big Us" - Sanders campaign, November 26, 2019

"Seniors" - Sanders campaign, November 19, 2019

"Belongs to Us" - Sanders campaign, November 11, 2019

"Fight for Someone You Don't Know" - Sanders campaign, October 22, 2019

"Hope" - Sanders campaign, October 21, 2019

"Fights for Us" - Sanders campaign, October 1, 2019

"VISION" - Sanders campaign, February 19, 2019

Oppose[edit]

"November" - Democratic Majority for Israel, February 15, 2020

"Electable" - Democratic Majority for Israel, January 28, 2020

Campaign travel[edit]

See also: Presidential candidate campaign travel, 2020

Ballotpedia compiled the number of days each Democratic presidential candidate has spent in the four early primary states—Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada—from January 1, 2019, through February 29, 2020.

Information about the candidates' schedules was sourced from The Des Moines Register, NBC Boston/NECN, The Post & Courier, The Nevada Independent.^{[17][18][19][20]}

The following table shows the number of days each candidate spent in each early primary state between January 1, 2019, and February 29, 2020. Candidates marked with an asterisk did not have complete information available for one or more states.

Policy positions[edit]

The following policy positions were compiled from the candidate's official campaign website, editorials, speeches, and interviews.

Immigration

Bernie Sanders supports creating a pathway to citizenship, providing legal status to DACA-eligible immigrants, and restructuring the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Sanders' campaign website proposes the following. "Enact comprehensive immigration reform, including a path towards citizenship. Expand DACA and DAPA, including providing immediate legal status for young people eligible for the DACA program and developing a humane policy for those seeking asylum. Completely reshape and reform our immigration enforcement system, including fundamentally restructuring ICE, an agency Senator Sanders voted against creating. End the barbaric practice of family separation and detention of children in cages. Dismantle cruel and inhumane deportation programs and detention centers. Establish standards for independent oversight of relevant agencies within DHS." ^[source]

Healthcare

Bernie Sanders campaign website says he supports "guaranteeing health care to all people as a right, not a privilege, through a Medicare-for-all, single-payer program."

Sanders' campaign website also says, "Today, more than 30 million Americans still don’t have health insurance and even more are underinsured. Even for those with insurance, costs are so high that medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States. Incredibly, we spend significantly more of our national GDP on this inadequate health care system—far more per person than any other major country. And despite doing so, Americans have worse health outcomes and a higher infant mortality rate than countries that spend much less on health care. Our people deserve better. We should be spending money on doctors, nurses, mental health specialists, dentists, and other professionals who provide services to people and improve their lives. We must invest in the development of new drugs and technologies that cure disease and alleviate pain—not wasting hundreds of billions of dollars a year on profiteering, huge executive compensation packages, and outrageous administrative costs. The giant pharmaceutical and health insurance lobbies have spent billions of dollars over the past decades to ensure that their profits come before the health of the American people. We must defeat them, together." ^[source]

Energy and environmental issues

Bernie Sanders says the climate crisis is "the single greatest challenge facing our country" and supports implementing the Green New Deal.

Sanders' campaign website states the following priorities: "Reaching 100 percent renewable energy for electricity and transportation by no later than 2030 and complete decarbonization by 2050 at latest. Ending unemployment by creating 20 million jobs needed to solve the climate crisis. Directly invest an historic $16.3 trillion public investment toward these efforts. A just transition for workers. Declaring climate change a national emergency. Saving American families money by weatherizing homes and lowering energy bills, building affordable and high-quality, modern public transportation, providing grants and trade-in programs for families and small businesses to purchase high-efficiency electric vehicles, and rebuilding our inefficient and crumbling infrastructure, including deploying universal, affordable high-speed internet. Supporting small family farms by investing in ecologically regenerative and sustainable agriculture. Justice for frontline communities. Commit to reducing emissions throughout the world. Meeting and exceeding our fair share of global emissions reductions. Making massive investments in research and development. Expanding the climate justice movement. Investing in conservation and public lands to heal our soils, forests, and prairie lands. This plan will pay for itself over 15 years. We will pay for the massive investment we need to reverse the climate crisis by: Making the fossil fuel industry pay for their pollution, through litigation, fees, and taxes, and eliminating federal fossil fuel subsidies. Generating revenue from the wholesale of energy produced by the regional Power Marketing Authorities. Scaling back military spending on maintaining global oil dependence. Collecting new income tax revenue from the 20 million new jobs created by the plan. Reduced need for federal and state safety net spending due to the creation of millions of good-paying, unionized jobs. Making the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share." ^[source]

Trade

Bernie Sanders' campaign website says "We need a new trade policy that creates decent-paying jobs in America and ends the race to the bottom. Corporate America cannot continue to throw American workers out on the street while they outsource our jobs and enjoy record-breaking profits. Despite the president’s tough rhetoric and haphazard tariffs, under Trump, we now have a record-breaking $890 billion annual trade deficit in goods. And since Trump was elected, multinational corporations have shipped 185,000 American jobs overseas. That is unacceptable."

His campaign website goes on: "As part of a new trade policy, we must: Eliminate the incentives baked into our current trade and tax agreements that make it easier for multinational corporations to ship jobs overseas. Corporations should not be able to get a tax deduction for the expenses involved in moving their factories abroad and throwing American workers out on the street. Instead of providing federal tax breaks, contracts, grants, and loans to corporations that outsource jobs, we need to support the small businesses that are creating good jobs in America. We must also expand “Buy American,” “Buy Local,” and other government policies that will increase jobs in the U.S. We need to make sure that strong and binding labor, environmental, and human rights standards are written into the core text of all trade agreements. We must also add to the core text of every U.S. trade agreement, enforceable rules against currency cheating, which allows countries to unfairly dump their products in this country and makes our exports more expensive abroad. Our trade policies must support communities of color that have been impacted the worst by our unfair trade deals. Undo the harm that trade agreements have done to family farmers. We must eliminate rules in our trade deals that increase the cost of medicines." ^[source]

Economy

Bernie Sanders' campaign website says, "While the Bill of Rights protects us from the tyranny of an oppressive government, many in the establishment would like the American people to submit to the tyranny of oligarchs, multinational corporations, Wall Street banks, and billionaires who now control almost every aspect of our daily lives. But as President Franklin Roosevelt said 75 years ago: “True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security.”

His campaign website calls for a 21st Century Economic Bill of Rights with the following guarantees: "The right to a job that pays a living wage. The right to quality health care. The right to a complete education. The right to affordable housing. The right to a clean environment. The right to a secure retirement." His campaign website also lists the following priorities on Real Wall Street Reform: "Break up too-big-to-fail banks. End the too-big-to-jail doctrine. Reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act. Cap credit card interest rates. Allow every post office to offer basic and affordable banking services. Cap ATM fees. Audit the Federal Reserve and make it a more democratic institution so that it becomes responsive to the needs of ordinary Americans, not just the billionaires on Wall Street. Restrict rapid-fire financial speculation with a financial transactions tax. Reform credit rating agencies." ^[source]

Education

Bernie Sanders supports increasing funding for public education and opposes for-profit charter schools.

Sanders' campaign website proposes the following: "We must make sure that charter schools are accountable, transparent and truly serve the needs of disadvantaged children, not Wall Street, billionaire investors, and other private interests. We must ensure that a handful of billionaires don’t determine education policy for our nation’s children. We will oppose the DeVos-style privatization of our nation’s schools and will not allow public resources to be drained from public schools. We must guarantee childcare and universal pre-Kindergarten for every child in America to help level the playing field, create new and good jobs, and enable parents more easily balance the demands of work and home. We must increase pay for public school teachers so that their salary is commensurate with their importance to society. And we must invest in high-quality, ongoing professional development, and cancel teachers’ student debt. We must protect the tenure system for public school teachers and combat attacks on collective bargaining by corporate profiteers. We must put an end to high-stakes testing and 'teaching to the test' so that our students have a more fulfilling educational life and our teachers are afforded professional respect. We must guarantee children with disabilities an equal right to high-quality education, and increase funding for programs that combat racial segregation and unfair disciplinary practices that disproportionately affect students of color." ^[source]

Gun regulation

Bernie Sanders supports expanding background checks, banning the sale of certain firearms, and prohibiting high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Sanders' campaign website says, "We must: Take on the NRA and its corrupting effect on Washington. The NRA has become a partisan lobbying public-relations entity for gun manufacturers, and its influence must be stopped. Expand background checks. End the gun show loophole. All gun purchases should be subject to the same background check standards. Ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons. Assault weapons are designed and sold as tools of war. There is absolutely no reason why these firearms should be sold to civilians. Prohibit high-capacity ammunition magazines. Crack down on 'straw purchases' where people buy guns for criminals." ^[source]

Criminal justice

Bernie Sanders campaign website says, "We are going to end the international embarrassment of having more people in jail than any other country on earth. Instead of spending $80 billion a year on jails and incarceration, we are going to invest in jobs and education for our young people. No more private prisons and detention centers. No more profiteering from locking people up. No more 'war on drugs.' No more keeping people in jail because they’re too poor to afford cash bail."

Sanders' campaign website contains the following main tenets of his criminal justice reform plan: "End Profiteering in Our Criminal Justice System. End Cash Bail. Transform the Way We Police Communities. Ensure Law Enforcement Accountability and Robust Oversight. Provide More Support to Police Officers and Create A Robust Non-Law Enforcement Alternative Response System. Ensuring All Americans Due Process. Right to counsel. Ensure Accountability and Fairness in Prosecution. Ending Mass Incarceration and Excessive Sentencing. End the War on Drugs and Stop Criminalizing Addiction. Treat Children Like Children. Reform Our Decrepit Prison System to Make Jails and Prisons More Humane. Ensure a Just Transition Post-Release. Stop The Cycle of Violence by Prioritizing the Most Serious Offenses. Provide Adequate Support to Crime Survivors. Reverse the Criminalization of Disability. Investing in Community Living. Investing in Our Communities." ^[source]

Foreign policy

Bernie Sanders campaign website says, "The U.S. must lead the world in improving international cooperation in the fight against climate change, militarism, authoritarianism, and global inequality."

His website says that he will: "Implement a foreign policy which focuses on democracy, human rights, diplomacy and peace, and economic fairness. Allow Congress to reassert its Constitutional role in warmaking, so that no president can wage unauthorized and unconstitutional interventions overseas. Follow the American people, who do not want endless war. American troops have been in Afghanistan for nearly 18 years, the longest war in American history. Our troops have been in Iraq since 2003, and in Syria since 2015, and many other places. It is long past time for Congress to reassert its Constitutional authority over the use of force to responsibly end these interventions and bring our troops home. End U.S. support for the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, which has created the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe. Rejoin the Iran nuclear agreement and talk to Iran on a range of other issues. Work with pro-democracy forces around the world to build societies that work for and protect all people. In the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, democracy is under threat by forces of intolerance, corruption, and authoritarianism." ^[source]

Impeachment

Bernie Sanders said in a statement, "Three months ago, I called for an impeachment inquiry by the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives into the actions and behavior of President Trump. I believed then and I believe now that in Donald Trump we have the most corrupt president in the modern history of this country." ^[source]

Labor

Other policy positions[edit]

Click on any of the following links to read more policy positions from the 2020 presidential candidates.

Campaign themes[edit]

The following campaign themes were published on Sanders' campaign website:

Sanders participated in an interview series with The New York Times that asked 21 Democratic candidates the same series of 18 questions. To view Sanders' responses, click here.

Archive of Political Emails[edit]

The Archive of Political Emails was founded in July 2019 to compile political fundraising and advocacy emails sent by candidates, elected officials, PACs, nonprofits, NGOs, and other political actors.^[22] The archive includes screenshots and searchable text from emails sent by 2020 presidential candidates. To review the Sanders campaign's emails, click here.

Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing[edit]

See also: Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing

The following section provided a timeline of Sanders' campaign activity beginning in January 2019. The entries, which come from Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing, are sorted by month in reverse chronological order.

2020[edit]

• April 2020 (click to collapse)

  April[edit]

  • April 8, 2020: Sanders suspended his presidential campaign. He said in a video statement to supporters, “I wish I could give you better news, but I think you know the truth. We are now some 300 delegates behind Vice President Biden and the path toward victory is virtually impossible.” Sanders said he would remain on upcoming primary ballots to win more delegates to influence the party platform at the Democratic National Convention.

  • April 7, 2020: Sanders held a livestream discussion on the disproportionate effect the coronavirus pandemic is having on black Americans.

  • April 6, 2020: Sanders criticized the Wisconsin Supreme Court for blocking Gov. Tony Evers’ order to postpone in-person voting in the state until June 9. He said his campaign would not conduct traditional GOTV activities in Wisconsin due to public health concerns. “Let’s be clear: holding this election amid the coronavirus outbreak is dangerous, disregards the guidance of public health experts, and may very well prove deadly,” he said in a statement.

  • April 4, 2020: The Washington Post reported that Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir and other senior advisers had encouraged Sanders to withdraw from the presidential race.

  • April 3, 2020: Sanders released his "Priorities for the Next Coronavirus Relief Package,” which included monthly direct payments of $2,000 to every person in the United States regardless of immigration status. He also called for guaranteed paid medical and sick leave for all workers and hazard pay for essential and frontline workers. He also said the Defense Production Act should be used for the production of personal protective equipment. Sanders called for canceling all student loan payments and suspending monthly payments like rent, mortgages, medical debt, and consumer debt collection.

  • April 2, 2020: Sanders called for airline grants in the coronavirus relief bill to be approved to fund the paychecks and benefits of 2 million airline workers.

  • April 1, 2020: In an interview on ABC’s The View, Sanders defended his decision to remain in the race. "Last I heard, people in a Democracy have a right to vote and have a right to vote for the agenda that they think can work for America," he said.

  • April 1, 2020: Sanders called for Wisconsin to postpone its April 7 primary due to concerns with the coronavirus. He said early voting should be extended and the election should move to be entirely vote-by-mail.

• March 2020 (click to expand)

  March[edit]

  • March 31, 2020: Sanders co-signed a letter to Secretaries Mike Pompeo and Steve Mnuchin earlier this week calling for the U.S. to suspend sanctions on Iran during the coronavirus pandemic. “Rather than continue to invoke new sanctions in the Iranian people’s hour of need, we urge you to substantially suspend sanctions on Iran during this global public health emergency in a humanitarian gesture to the Iranian people to better enable them to fight the virus,” the letter said.

  • March 31, 2020: Sanders sent a letter to the United States Postal Service requesting information on how the agency is protecting letter carriers, instituting social distancing measures, and prioritizing the delivery of emergency supplies.

  • March 30, 2020: Sanders discussed Medicare for All and the coronavirus pandemic in a virtual interview on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers. He also hosted a virtual roundtable on the coronavirus with Rep. Peter DeFazio (Ore.), Rev. William J. Barber II, journalist Sonia Shah, and academic Cornel West.

  • March 27-28, 2020: Sanders tweeted that "we must place a moratorium on rent payments, especially in states hardest-hit by the coronavirus like New York." He said he supports New York state Sen. Mike Gianaris' bill to place a moratorium on rent payments for those whose paychecks have been reduced or eliminated amid the coronavirus. Sanders also co-signed a letter with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and 12 other representatives to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos asking what the company is doing to protect employees from exposure to the coronavirus.

  • March 26, 2020: Sanders said on the radio show 1A, “While this bill did not go anywhere near as far as I thought it should go, what it did do is expand unemployment benefits in a way that has never taken place before. … It more or less guarantees unemployment benefits for all American workers … and what this bill says is that for four months you’re going to get $600 more a week than you otherwise would have gotten.”

  • March 25, 2020: Sanders spoke on the Senate floor against a proposal to remove a provision from the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package that would provide an additional $600 a week in unemployment payments for four months to workers who were laid off. The proposal to remove the provision was defeated, and the bill passed the chamber 96-0.

  • March 24, 2020: Sanders and several other members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin calling for the suspension of sanctions on Iran amid the coronavirus. Sanders also appeared on PBS Newshour, where he discussed the coronavirus economic stimulus bill being debated in Congress.

  • March 23, 2020: Sanders won the Democrats Abroad primary, according to official vote totals released Mar. 23. The primary was conducted March 3-10 and was open to all U.S. citizens living abroad who did not vote in a state or territorial primary. Sanders won 58% of the vote and nine of the group’s delegates. Biden won 22% and the remaining four delegates.

  • March 21-22, 2020: Sanders live-streamed a virtual roundtable on the coronavirus with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). Sanders' campaign also announced it had raised more than $2 million in two days for charities working on coronavirus relief.

  • March 21, 2020: Sanders made an appearance at DJ D-Nice's Instagram Live virtual dance party.

  • March 18-19, 2020: Sanders proposed the government cover 100% of small- and mid-sized businesses’ payroll if they do not lay off employees during the pandemic. He also said all student loan payments should be canceled during this period.

  • March 17, 2020: Sanders proposed providing every household with a $2,000 cash payment each month during the coronavirus pandemic.

  • March 16, 2020: Sanders held a digital rally, which featured Sanders, Rep. Jesus “Chuy” García (Ill.), and several campaign surrogates. He discussed the coronavirus, Medicare for All, and electability.

  • March 14, 2020: Sanders held a virtual fireside chat.

  • March 10, 2020: Rep. Mark Takano (Calif.) endorsed Sanders.

  • March 10, 2020: Both Biden and Sanders canceled their respective rallies in Cleveland for public health and safety. It was the first time concerns about the coronavirus led to canceled campaign rallies this election cycle.

  • March 9-10, 2020: Sanders held a rally in Cleveland, one week before the primary in Ohio. He held a public health roundtable in Detroit on the coronavirus.

  • March 9, 2020: The Working Families Party endorsed Sanders.

  • March 9, 2020: Sanders participated in a televised town hall on Fox News, his second on the network.

  • March 6-8, 2020: Rev. Jesse Jackson endorsed Sanders at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Detroit Action, a racial and economic justice advocacy group in Michigan, made its first-ever presidential primary endorsement and backed Sanders.

  • March 5-8, 2020: Sanders canceled a rally in Jackson, Mississippi. He instead campaigned in Michigan with rallies in Detroit, Dearborn, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor.

  • March 5, 2020: Sanders held a rally in Phoenix, Arizona.

  • March 4-6, 2020: Sanders launched a new ad featuring clips of former President Barack Obama praising Sanders. Sanders also campaigned in Jackson, Mississippi.

  • March 3, 2020: A county judge denied Sanders’ campaign’s request to keep polling locations in Los Angeles open for two additional hours because of technical issues at some sites.

  • March 3, 2020: Sanders hosted an election night rally in Vermont.

  • March 2, 2020: Democracy for America and the editorial board of The Nation endorsed Sanders.

  • March 2, 2020: Sanders held rallies in Utah and Minnesota. He announced he raised more than $46 million in February.

  • February 28 - March 1, 2020: Sanders held rallies in Massachusetts and California. He spent roughly $16 million on ads in Super Tuesday states.

• February 2020 (click to expand)

  February[edit]

  • February 27, 2020: Sanders held rallies in Virginia and South Carolina.

  • February 26, 2020: Sanders held two South Carolina rallies in North Charleston and Myrtle Beach. Two Florida Democrats filed a lawsuit seeking Sanders be disqualified from the primary ballot since he is an independent.

  • February 24, 2020: Sanders posted to his campaign website a plan for how he would pay for Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. His proposals included a wealth tax, taxes on and litigation against the fossil fuel industry, and reducing defense spending.

  • February 22-23, 2020: Sanders held rallies across Texas with events in El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, and Austin. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (Ill.) endorsed Sanders on Feb. 20.

  • February 21-23, 2020: Former 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson endorsed Sanders at his rally in Austin, Texas. Sanders began airing a new ad in South Carolina focused on criminal justice.

  • February 19-20, 2020: Sanders requested recounts in 10 precincts in Iowa. Emgage PAC, which describes itself as the biggest Muslim political action committee in the U.S., endorsed Sanders.

  • February 18-19, 2020: Sanders opened five new field offices in Michigan in Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Detroit, Flint, and Grand Rapids. His campaign also opened a new headquarters in Utah.

  • February 17, 2020: The campaign launched its final two ads in Nevada, “Nevada First” and “Belong to Us.” Sanders held a rally in Washington with Rep. Pramila Jayapal with more than 17,000 attendees. The Latino activist group, Mijente, backed Sanders on Feb. 18, marking the group’s first presidential endorsement. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio endorsed Sanders on Feb 14.

  • February 14-16, 2020: Sanders held three rallies in North Carolina and Texas. He also spoke at a GOTV rally in Las Vegas and attended a Clark County Democratic Party event. Sanders held a campaign rally in Denver.

  • February 13, 2020: The Sanders campaign opened five offices across Texas.

  • February 11, 2020: Sanders held an election night rally in Manchester, New Hampshire.

  • February 10, 2020: Sanders held events throughout New Hampshire, including a concert rally with Rep. Alexandria Oscasio-Cortez.

  • February 6, 2020: The Sanders campaign announced it would increase staffing in Super Tuesday states and spend $5.5 million on television and digital ad buys in 10 states.

  • February 6, 2020: The Sanders campaign announced that it had raised $25 million in January, more than any other Democratic candidate raised in a single quarter in 2019.

  • February 4, 2020: Sanders held a rally in Milford, New Hampshire. He then delivered a response to the State of the Union in Manchester.

  • February 2-3, 2020: The Wall Street Journal published a profile of Sanders’ policies throughout his career titled “The Socialist Evolution of Bernie Sanders.” Sanders hosted his caucus night party in Des Moines.

  • January 31 - February 2, 2020: Reps. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) campaigned for Sanders in Iowa. Sanders attended a Super Bowl event in Des Moines.

• January 2020 (click to expand)

  January[edit]

  • January 29, 2020: Sanders introduced the Preventing Future American Sickness Act to designate certain chemicals as hazardous substances and ban their use in food packaging.

  • January 28, 2020: Sanders made a $2.5 million television ad buy in California and Texas, the two largest Super Tuesday states.

  • January 27, 2020: Sanders launched his first television ads in Nevada. The ads, two in English and one in Spanish, focused on economic issues and healthcare.

  • January 24-26, 2020: Sanders held campaign events with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and Ames. He started airing a new television ad called “Transform This Country” on Jan. 23.

  • January 19, 2020: Rep. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) endorsed Sanders.

  • January 18, 2020: Sanders held a town hall and rally in New Hampshire.

  • January 17, 2020: Sanders hosted a rally with Rep. Ilhan Omar in Minneapolis.

  • January 16, 2020: Sanders, Michael Bennet, Amy Klobuchar, and Elizabeth Warren were sworn in as jurors in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Rep. Mark Pocan (Wis.), the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, endorsed Sanders.

  • January 15, 2020: Immigrant activist group Make the Road endorsed Sanders.

  • January 14, 2020: Sanders, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer, and Elizabeth Warren participated in the seventh Democratic presidential primary debate. The event took place at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, at 9 p.m. ET. Also that day, the Clark County Education Association, the largest teachers union in Nevada, endorsed Sanders.

  • January 13, 2020: Sanders began airing a new ad in Iowa featuring a speech by President John F. Kennedy (D).

  • January 12, 2020: SEA/SEIU Local 1984 in New Hampshire endorsed Sanders, splitting from its national affiliate which has remained neutral in the primary.

  • January 11, 2020: The Post and Courier reported that Sanders had the second-largest paid staff in South Carolina with 72 staffers. Tom Steyer (D) led with 82 paid staffers, while Pete Buttigieg was in third place with 50.

  • January 11-12, 2020: Sanders held several campaign events in Iowa with Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ro Khanna. He also attended a presidential forum on immigration, education, environmental issues, and justice in Des Moines.

  • January 9-10, 2020: Sanders wrote an op-ed in The Des Moines Register about his campaign’s fundraising approach and economic policies. Sanders held town halls in Iowa.

  • January 7-8, 2020: Sanders spoke about Iran, healthcare, and Democratic electability in an interview with PBS NewsHour. He also wrote an op-ed on public education.

  • December 29, 2019 - January 5, 2020: Sanders held town halls and holiday events in Iowa.

2019[edit]

• December 2019 (click to expand)

  December[edit]

  • December 27-29, 2019: Sanders campaigned in New Hampshire, holding town halls on healthcare, democracy, and environmental issues.

  • December 20-21, 2019: Sanders campaigned in California, holding town halls and rallies in Moreno Valley, San Diego, and Venice. People’s Action, a coalition of 40 progressive groups with 1 million members, endorsed Sanders.

  • December 17, 2019: Sanders said that he supported a Maine state legislative bill that would allow public employees, including teachers, to strike.

  • December 16, 2019: Sanders tweeted a list of companies that paid no federal income tax in 2018.

  • December 16, 2019: Sanders held a rally in Coachella Valley, California.

  • December 14-15, 2019: Sanders held three rallies in Iowa over the weekend and met with minor league baseball players and employees.

  • December 13, 2019: Sanders held a town hall and rally with Rep. Ilhan Omar (Minn.) in New Hampshire.

  • December 10, 2019: The Center for Popular Democracy Action, which represents 600,000 members from more than 40 progressive organizations, endorsed Sanders.

  • December 10, 2019: Sanders spoke at the UNITE HERE’s Culinary Union Town Hall in Las Vegas.

  • December 8, 2019: Sanders began a three-day tour of Nevada with stops scheduled in Elko, Carson City, Reno, and Las Vegas.

  • December 6, 2019: Sanders issued a plan to expand broadband internet access as part of a Green New Deal infrastructure initiative.

  • December 5, 2019: Sanders campaigned in Iowa, speaking at a presidential forum on organic food production.

  • December 2, 2019: Sanders met with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to discuss the organization’s plans to cut 42 minor league teams.

  • December 1, 2019: Sanders campaigned in South Carolina with stops at the Reid Chapel AME Church and the University of South Carolina.

• November 2019 (click to expand)

  November[edit]

  • November 25, 2019: Sanders wrote an open letter urging Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert Manfred not to close 42 Minor League Baseball clubs.

  • November 25, 2019: Sanders held a town hall in Salem, New Hampshire.

  • November 23-24, 2019: Sanders campaigned in New Hampshire with stops in Franklin, Manchester, Hillsboro, and Portsmouth.

  • November 21, 2019: Sanders held a rally at Morehouse College in Atlanta.

  • November 19, 2019: The Sanders campaign announced it had received more than 4 million donations, a milestone it had not reached until after the New Hampshire primary during the 2016 election.

  • November 16, 2019: Eight candidates, including Sanders, participated in the Real América Presidential Forum hosted by the Democratic Party of California and Univision. The event took place as part of the state party's endorsing convention that weekend.

  • November 15, 2019: Sanders held a Green New Deal rally in Fresno, California.

  • November 13, 2019: Ten candidates, including Sanders, qualified for the fifth Democratic primary debate. The debate took place on November 20, 2019, at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

  • November 12, 2019: The New York Times reported that National Nurses United would formally endorse Sanders in Oakland, California, on November 15.

  • November 11, 2019: Sanders issued his veterans policy plan, which included investing $62 billion to repair and modernize hospitals and clinics.

  • November 8-11, 2019: Sanders campaigned across Iowa, including a rally with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) in Council Bluffs.

  • November 7, 2019: The New York Times reported that the Sanders campaign planned to spend $30 million on advertising in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, and California. Sanders also released his immigration plan, which included reinstating DACA and eliminating Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and redistributing their duties to other agencies.

  • November 6, 2019: Sanders started a two week airing of “Fight for Us,” his first television ad in New Hampshire, as part of a $1 million ad buy in the state.

  • November 6, 2019: The Sanders campaign said the media was ignoring Sanders’ poll performance, which the campaign described as a surge in its daily newsletter.

  • November 4, 2019: Sanders campaigned in Virginia to support local Democratic candidates.

  • November 3, 2019: Sanders held a rally in Minneapolis with Rep. Ilhan Omar at the University of Minnesota campus. The campaign estimated that 10,000 people attended the event.

• October 2019 (click to expand)

  October[edit]

  • October 31, 2019: Sanders discussed criminal justice and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement in an interview on Desus & Mero on Showtime.

  • October 31, 2019: Sanders attended a forum hosted by Rights & Democracy, the New Hampshire Youth Movement, and People’s Action in New Hampshire. He is also filing to run in the state primary.

  • October 30, 2019: Sanders attended a rally at Keene State College in New Hampshire.

  • October 28, 2019: Sanders said at the J Street conference that he would leverage aid to Israel to push for foreign policy change and reallocate some military aid to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. He also discussed socialism, taxes, and criminal liability for corporate executives in a CNBC interview.

  • October 27, 2019: Rep. Rashida Tlaib endorsed Sanders at a rally in Detroit. More than 4,700 people attended the event.

  • October 24, 2019: Sanders attended a televised town hall on Latino issues hosted by LULAC and Newsmax.

  • October 22, 2019: Sanders received endorsements from two Democratic National Committee members and several members of the Colorado Working Families Party. Sanders also released a digital ad featuring Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

  • October 21, 2019: Sanders released a new ad in Iowa focused on medical debt.

  • October 20, 2019: An estimated 26,000 people attended Sanders’ campaign rally in New York, marking the largest rally for any 2020 Democrat.

  • October 19, 2019: Sanders held his first campaign rally in three weeks in Queens, New York. The Sanders campaign is also launching a $1.3 million television ad buy in Iowa.

  • October 19, 2019: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez formally endorsed Sanders.

  • October 14, 2019: Sanders proposed requiring corporations with at least $100 million in revenue and all publicly traded companies increase employee ownership stakes by providing 2 percent of stocks to their workers until at least 20 percent of the company is employee-owned. His corporate accountability plan also called for having workers directly elect 45 percent of the board of directors.

  • October 10, 2019: Sanders thanked supporters for their well-wishes and said he would soon return to the campaign trail in a video statement.

  • October 9, 2019: Sanders was interviewed by NBC News. He discussed his heart attack and how his campaign handled informing the public about it.

  • October 8, 2019: Sanders said he was "feeling good" and "getting stronger" after his heart attack. He also said, "[I]f there's any message that I hope we can get out there is that I want people to pay attention to the symptoms. When you’re hurting, when you’re fatigued, when you have pain in your chest, listen to it."

  • October 7, 2019: Sanders released a campaign finance proposal. He said he would replace the Federal Election Commission with a law enforcement agency and prevent party conventions and inauguration ceremonies from corporate sponsorship.

  • October 3, 2019: Bernie Sanders’ wife, Jane Sanders, announced he would be discharged from the hospital by October 6 following a medical procedure. He is expected to participate in the October presidential debate.

  • October 2, 2019: Sanders canceled campaign events this week and suspended his first television ad launch in Iowa after undergoing a heart procedure for a blocked artery.

  • October 1, 2019: Sanders announced he raised $25.3 million in the third quarter of 2019, topping his second-quarter take by more than $7 million.

  • October 1, 2019: Sanders launched a $1.3 million ad campaign in Iowa with his first ad in the state.

• September 2019 (click to expand)

  September[edit]

  • September 29, 2019: Sanders campaigned in New Hampshire with stops at three colleges.

  • September 25, 2019: CNN reported that Sanders’ in-house production team began shooting ads in Iowa the week of September 22 through 28.

  • September 24, 2019: Sanders proposed a wealth tax that would progressively tax households on any net worth over $32 million. Eight wealth tax brackets would exist, ranging from 1 percent to 8 percent.

  • September 23, 2019: Sanders began his “Bernie Beats Trump Tour” of pivot counties across Iowa.

  • September 22, 2019: Sanders held his first rally in Oklahoma with more than 4,000 attendees.

  • September 21, 2019: Sanders proposed eliminating $81 billion in medical debt by having the federal government pay off past-due medical bills in collections, limiting debt collection practices, and reviewing the billing and collection practices of nonprofit hospitals.

  • September 19, 2019: The Sanders campaign announced it had received contributions from 1 million donors, the fastest of any candidate in presidential election history.

  • September 18, 2019: The Sanders campaign confirmed that Iowa political director Jess Mazour had departed the campaign.

  • September 17, 2019: Sanders launched a digital ad campaign targeting teachers focused on a 2018 walkout in West Virginia that led to salary increases.

  • September 15, 2019: Sanders announced several changes to his New Hampshire state leadership team, including replacing former state director Joe Caiazzo with Shannon Jackson. Caiazzo shifted to run Sanders’ campaign in Massachusetts.

  • September 15, 2019: Sanders agreed to release his medical records before the Iowa caucuses.

  • September 12, 2019: Sanders participated in the third Democratic primary debate in Houston. ABC News and Univision broadcast the debate and Linsey Davis, David Muir, Jorge Ramos, and George Stephanopoulos moderated. The candidates discussed Medicare for All, criminal justice, international trade agreements, gun violence, military strategy in Afghanistan, education, and climate change. To read debate highlights for Sanders, click here.

  • September 11, 2019: The American Association of People with Disabilities released a questionnaire answered by Sanders on his disability policies.

  • September 9, 2019: Sanders and seven other candidates participated in a political ad on gun violence produced by an advocacy organization founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Giffords' Courage to Fight Gun Violence. The ad was part of a six-figure digital buy. Also that day, Sanders hosted a campaign rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado, and The New York Times published an article on the 1987 trip to Canada that drove Sanders' position on healthcare.

  • September 8, 2019: Sanders spoke at Iowa State University as part of his college tailgate tour.

  • September 7, 2019: Sanders spoke at the Democratic Party of New Hampshire's annual convention along with 18 other candidates.

  • September 4, 2019: In an appearance on The View, Sanders discussed the difference between his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns.

  • August 29-September 1, 2019: Sanders campaigned in South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Maine.

• August 2019 (click to expand)

  August[edit]

  • August 26, 2019: Sanders wrote an op-ed in the Columbia Journalism Review about journalism and democracy.

  • August 24, 2019: While campaigning at the Minnesota State Fair, Sanders said he was running for president to defeat Trump and to combat economic inequality.

  • August 22, 2019: Sanders issued a $16.3 trillion climate change plan that would seek to reduce carbon emissions by 71 percent by 2030 and transition the U.S. to 100 percent renewable electricity.

  • August 17, 2019: Sanders issued his criminal justice plan, calling for ending cash bail, solitary confinement, and civil asset forfeiture. His plan would also establish safe injection sites for the medically supervised use of illegal drugs and require the attorney general to investigate the deaths of individuals in police custody.

  • August 15, 2019: Ryan criticized the Democratic debate qualifications, saying in an interview on MSNBC, “Bill Clinton did not get into the race until October. And here it is August, and the field’s already being, in some ways, artificially winnowed by the Democratic National Committee.”

  • August 14, 2019: In response to what Sanders called the “corporate media’s dislike of our campaign,” Sanders is launching a digital newsletter about the election called the Bern Notice.

  • August 13, 2019: Sanders addressed union members at the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades annual convention in Las Vegas.

  • August 12, 2019: The Washington Post profiled Sanders’ focus on Medicare for All and campaign strategy around healthcare.

  • August 10, 2019: Sanders said candidates needed to focus on policy that addresses the concerns of working families during a speech at the Wing Ding.

  • August 8, 2019: Weld, along with Booker, Buttigieg, and Sanders, participated in a presidential candidate’s forum at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Miami.

  • August 6, 2019: Sanders appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience, discussing primary politics, healthcare, pharmaceutical costs, and marijuana.

  • August 5, 2019: KPBS interviewed Sanders about affordable housing, homelessness, and Medicare for All in San Diego.

  • August 5, 2019: Sanders, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Amy Klobuchar spoke on Latino issues at the UnidosUS Annual Conference in San Diego.

  • August 3, 2019: The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees held a public service forum in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sanders participated. Also on August 3-4, the 2020 Democratic candidates responded to the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, in formal statements, interviews, and tweets. Candidates focused on Trump’s rhetoric on immigrants, congressional inaction, and gun violence policies.

• July 2019 (click to expand)

  July[edit]

  • July 31, 2019: The Sanders campaign announced it had raised $1.1 million since the Tuesday debate from more than 70,000 contributions.

  • July 30, 2019: The first night of the second Democratic presidential primary debate was broadcast from Detroit, Michigan, on CNN. Sanders participated. He defended his democratic socialist policies as possible, pointing to Medicare’s start more than 50 years ago. While discussing trade policy, Sanders said he would not award government contracts to companies “throwing American workers out on the street.” He also called healthcare a human right and compared the U.S. healthcare system and pharmaceutical prices to Canada’s.

  • July 29, 2019: Sanders filmed a campaign video with rapper Cardi B discussing student debt, climate change, and the minimum wage.

  • July 28, 2019: Sanders joined Type 1 diabetes patients traveling to Canada for cheaper insulin and criticized pricing in the pharmaceutical industry.

  • July 26, 2019: Sanders appeared on Pod Save America to discuss democratic socialism, Medicare for All, and the Israeli government.

  • July 25, 2019: Sanders posted a social media ad focused on women who support his campaign.

  • July 24, 2019: Sanders, nine other Democratic candidates, and Republican candidate Bill Weld spoke at the NAACP’s 2020 Presidential Candidates Forum in Detroit, Michigan. Sanders released a plan to increase the number of black healthcare professionals, which includes expanding the National Health Service Corps and related programs in underserved areas; increasing the number of nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants; and canceling student debt.

  • July 24, 2019: Sanders, nine other Democratic candidates, and Republican candidate Bill Weld spoke at the NAACP’s 2020 Presidential Candidates Forum in Detroit, Michigan.

  • July 22, 2019: The Associated Press profiled the communications network Sanders has created as an alternative to traditional media.

  • July 20, 2019: The Des Moines Register and AARP hosted a series of five forums in Iowa. Sanders participated in an event in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

  • July 19, 2019: Sanders said his campaign will limit the hours of staffers to ensure they earn the equivalent of a $15 minimum wage.

  • July 18, 2019: Some members of the Sanders campaign, which unionized in March, lobbied for a $15 hourly wage.

  • July 16, 2019: Sanders said he would try to split apart Facebook, Google, and Amazon, and pursue greater enforcement of antitrust legislation.

  • July 15, 2019: Sanders held a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to protest the closure of the Hanemann University Hospital. At the rally, Sanders proposed establishing a $20 billion emergency trust fund to enable local governments to purchase for-profit hospitals in financial distress.

  • July 11, 2019: Sanders participated in a town hall hosted by the League of United Latin American Citizens at their annual conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Also that day, Sanders discussed reparations, student loan debt, and how his proposals will affect black communities in an interview on BET Digital's Black Coffee.

  • July 9, 2019: Along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders introduced a resolution calling for a national mobilization of resources to combat climate change. And Sanders wrote an op-ed in Fortune outlining his plan to cancel $1.6 trillion in student debt and make public colleges, trade schools, and apprenticeship programs tuition- and debt-free. Also on July 9, Sanders and 12 other Democratic presidential candidates called on Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to resign for his involvement in negotiating a plea agreement for Jeffrey Epstein in a 2008 sex trafficking case.

  • July 5, 2019: Sanders was among the 10 candidates who spoke at the Strong Public Schools Presidential Forum in Texas.

  • July 4, 2019: Politico published an article examining the difference between Sanders' 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns.

  • July 2, 2019: Sanders announced that he had raised $18 million in the second quarter of 2019 and transferred another $6 million from other accounts. Since the debate, the campaign said it received nearly 200,000 donations.

  • July 1, 2019: The Sanders campaign did not release its quarterly fundraising figures but campaign manager Faiz Shakir said he did not expect the Sanders campaign to top Pete Buttigieg’s announced second-quarter receipts of $24.8 million.

• June 2019 (click to expand)

  June[edit]

  • June 29, 2019: Sanders campaigned at the Nashua Pride Festival in New Hampshire.

  • June 27, 2019: At the first Democratic debate, Sanders said that under his policies the middle class would pay more in taxes but less in healthcare and education. He also opposed court packing, called for rotating judges, and said that support for Roe v. Wade would be a litmus test for his federal judicial nominees.

  • June 26, 2019: Sanders posted an online ad to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube on the housing crisis in Reno, Nevada.

  • June 24, 2019: Sanders introduced a bill in the Senate which would cancel all outstanding federal student loans. Sanders wrote an op-ed in Foreign Affairs, calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and defining climate change and global inequality as security threats.

  • June 22, 2019: Sanders and 21 other Democratic candidates spoke at the South Carolina Democratic Convention. This was a record-breaking number of presidential candidates speaking at the state party's convention, The Greenville News reported. Sanders and 19 other Democratic candidates also attended a forum hosted by Planned Parenthood.

  • June 21, 2019: Sanders and 21 other Democratic candidates attended Rep. Jim Clyburn’s (D) World Famous Fish Fry in Columbia, South Carolina. Sanders and seven other Democratic candidates also participated in a National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) forum, where Sanders said that his Medicare for All plan would include healthcare for people in the country without legal permission.

  • June 19, 2019: Sanders was among Democratic candidates who criticized Joe Biden for remarks he made about civility in the Senate during his time in the chamber. Biden said he worked with former Sens. James Eastland (D-Miss.) and Herman Talmadge (D-Ga.), who opposed desegregation efforts and with whom he often disagreed, to get things done. Biden responded, "There's not a racist bone in my body. I've been involved in civil rights my whole career. Period." Also that day, Sanders commented on a Politico article entitled "Warren emerges as potential compromise nominee" with the following tweet: "The cat is out of the bag. The corporate wing of the Democratic Party is publicly 'anybody but Bernie.'"

  • June 18, 2019: Sanders discussed the Trump administration’s Iran policy on MSNBC.

  • June 17, 2019: Sanders was one of 10 candidates that spoke at the Poor People’s Campaign Presidential Forum in Washington, D.C.

  • June 16, 2019: Sanders appeared on Fox News Sunday, where he told host Chris Wallace that to see real change the United States would "need a political revolution."

  • June 13, 2019: The Post Reports chronicled Sanders' early political years and time as mayor of Burlington, Vermont.

  • June 12, 2019: Sanders redefined and reiterated his support for democratic socialism in a speech at George Washington University. He called his policies the “unfinished business of the New Deal.”

  • June 11, 2019: Sanders joined Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, and Elizabeth Warren in a letter to McDonald's criticizing the company for its handling of sexual harassment complaints.

  • June 9, 2019: Sanders and 18 other candidates delivered a five-minute speech at the Democrats Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

  • June 8, 2019: Sanders and nine other candidates attended Capital City Pride Festival events in Iowa.

  • June 6, 2019: The cover of TIME Magazine featured a photo of Sanders, and the issue featured a piece on his second presidential bid.

  • June 5, 2019: Sanders spoke at the Walmart annual shareholders meeting in Arkansas and proposed a minimum wage of $15/hour for the company.

  • June 2, 2019: Sanders published an op-ed in The New York Times detailing his family’s financial struggles and his position on wealth inequality.

• May 2019 (click to expand)

  May[edit]

  • May 31, 2019: The Democratic Party of California announced that Sanders would speak at its convention held May 31 to June 2. Sanders also attended the Immigrant Unity and Freedom Presidential Forum in Pasadena, California, along with Julián Castro, Kamala Harris, and Jay Inslee.

  • May 30, 2019: Sanders campaigned in Nevada. According to The Washington Post, Sanders was also developing a plan to mandate large businesses give a portion of their stocks to a fund paying out dividends for employees. Sanders brought on Charleston City Council member Kwadjo Campbell as his state director, along with five other hires in the state.

  • May 29, 2019: Sanders campaigned across New Hampshire, including a meeting with 50 Democratic state lawmakers.

  • May 25, 2019: Sanders campaigned in his home state Vermont with a rally in Montpelier.

  • May 21, 2019: Sanders will attend Walmart’s annual shareholder meeting in Arkansas in June and introduce a measure to give hourly employees a seat on the corporation’s board.

  • May 20, 2019: The New York Times profiled Sanders and his time as the mayor of Burlington, Vermont.

  • May 18-20, 2019: Sanders toured the South with campaign stops in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.

  • May 19, 2019: Sanders released his education platform, which included calling for a temporary halt to public funding for nonprofit charter school expansion and a ban on for-profit charter schools

  • May 15, 2019: Sanders said he supported antitrust action against Facebook.

  • May 14, 2019: Sanders made an impromptu online address condemning a potential war with Iran.

  • May 13, 2019: Sanders wrote an op-ed in The Philadelphia Inquirer on the criminal justice system, the incarceration rate, and ending the cash bail system.

  • May 12, 2019: Sanders will speak at a Green New Deal rally organized by the Sunrise Movement at Howard University Monday. Rolling Stone also profiled the Sanders campaign.

  • May 9, 2019: Sanders campaign staffers ratified a collective bargaining agreement. They will be represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 400.

  • May 9, 2019: Sanders discussed how he will reach out to Trump voters in an interview on MSNBC.

  • May 7, 2019: Sanders released a set of guidelines to prevent sexual misconduct and discrimination within his own campaign.

  • May 5, 2019: Sanders released his agriculture platform, calling for the breakup of agriculture monopolies and increased government involvement in commodity production and pricing.

  • May 2, 2019: In a Vox interview about defense spending, Sanders called for decreasing the budget and evaluating compensation for defense contractors.

• April 2019 (click to expand)

  April[edit]

  • April 30, 2019: Sanders wrote an op-ed in USA Today on voting rights for incarcerated individuals.

  • April 30, 2019: The Los Angeles Times reported on the state of Sanders’ campaign operations in California compared to his 2016 run.

  • April 30, 2019: Sanders released his trade platform, calling for a renegotiation of U.S. trade deals, labeling China a currency manipulator, barring federal contracts to companies that outsource jobs, and not appointing a trade representative who worked on Wall Street.

  • April 27, 2019: Sanders announced a new organizing tool called BERN, where supporters can input information about anyone’s name and background into a campaign voter database that can be matched to that person’s voter record, levels of support, top issues, and union membership.

  • April 25, 2019: While campaigning in Fort Worth, Texas, Sanders discussed Medicare and the minimum wage.

  • April 22, 2019: Sanders said at a town hall that he believed all convicted felons should be allowed to vote, including those that are still incarcerated.

  • April 18, 2019: Sanders was endorsed by seven state legislators from South Carolina, all members of the state’s Legislative Black Caucus.

  • April 18, 2019: Sanders wrote an op-ed in Greenville News on education and the criminal justice system in South Carolina.

  • April 15, 2019: Sanders participated in a televised town hall on Fox News, where he discussed his tax returns and tax policy, Democratic leadership, and healthcare.

  • April 14, 2019: In a letter to the Center for American Progress, Sanders said the group was undermining Democratic efforts to win the 2020 presidential election. “The letter airs criticisms shared among his supporters: That the think tank, which has close ties to Mrs. Clinton and the Democratic Party establishment, is beholden to corporate donors and has worked to quash a leftward shift in the party led partly by Mr. Sanders,” The New York Times reported.

  • April 12-14, 2019: Sanders campaigned across the Midwest, with stops in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

  • April 11, 2019: According to a FiveThirtyEight comparison of the Sanders campaign in 2016 and 2020, Sanders is performing better this cycle in media coverage, polling, fundraising, and endorsements at this point in the campaign.

  • April 10, 2019: Sanders will introduced his Medicare for All bill, which would provide insurance run by the federal government to everyone, including vision and dental care. Private insurers would only be able to provide benefits not otherwise covered by the federal plan.

  • April 8, 2019: The Nation profiled Sanders’ labor policies and emphasis on unions in his 2020 presidential campaign.

  • April 7, 2019: While campaigning in Iowa, Sanders said that felons should be able to vote while they are incarcerated. “You’re paying a price, you committed a crime, you’re in jail. That's bad. But you’re still living in American society and you have a right to vote. I believe in that, yes, I do,” he said.

  • April 4, 2019: Sanders was interviewed on The Daily Show, where he discussed his decision to participate in a town hall on Fox News.

  • April 3, 2019: Sanders was scheduled to be the first Democratic candidate to participate in a town hall televised by Fox News. The event was scheduled to be filmed in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on April 15.

  • April 2, 2019: Sanders announced that he had raised $18.2 million in the first quarter of 2019 with an average donation of $20. The Sanders campaign added that 20 percent of the donors were new supporters.

  • April 1, 2019: Sanders discussed possible term limits for the Supreme Court and rotating judges to the appeals courts.

• March 2019 (click to expand)

  March[edit]

  • March 31, 2019: Sanders said he would reduce prescription drug costs by at least 50 percent if elected president. When asked for details of his plan, Sanders said the U.S. could look to prescription drug policies in Canada, Japan, and Germany, and to patents held by large pharmaceutical companies.

  • March 28, 2019: Sanders wrote an op-ed in The Des Moines Register outlining his plan to use antitrust laws to support small farmers over large agribusinesses.

  • March 26, 2019: Sanders told Chris Hayes of the Washington Examiner that he did not support the House Affordable Care Act expansion bill, and said that he only supported Medicare-for-all.

  • March 25, 2019: Sanders tweeted support for 1,500 striking teaching assistants at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “I say to UIC: Sit down at the bargaining table. Negotiate in good faith. Pay your workers a living wage,” Sanders wrote.

  • March 24, 2019: Sanders campaigned in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Sanders spoke about the recent shooting in New Zealand and gun violence in general. He told supporters in Los Angeles that their “job is to complete the revolution we began” in his previous campaign.

  • March 21, 2019: The Democratic Socialists of America officially endorsed Sanders following a vote of the National Political Committee. This came amidst calls from some wings of the party to withhold the endorsement because of Sanders’ stance on reparations.

  • March 21, 2019: Sanders announced that his campaign would offset all of its carbon emissions, similar to a promise the candidate made in 2016.

  • March 20, 2019: Sanders made his first presidential campaign stop in California, where he spoke at a rally for striking University of California research and technical workers.

  • March 19, 2019: The Sanders campaign announced it hired David Sirota as a senior adviser and speechwriter. The campaign told The Atlantic that Sirota had been working unofficially for months in a trial period. During that time, the publication noted, Sirota criticized several other candidates or potential candidates on Twitter, on his own website, and in columns in The Guardian.

  • March 18, 2019: Sanders appeared on NPR’s Morning Edition, discussing diversity, reparations, and socialism.

  • March 15, 2019: Sanders campaign staffers became the first from a major presidential campaign to unionize.

  • March 14, 2019: Sanders was scheduled to speak at a union rally in Los Angeles on Mar. 20.

  • March 12, 2019: Sanders expanded his Iowa team, hiring Misty Rebik as state director, Jess Mazour as political director, Evan Burger as state caucus director, and Pete D'Alessandro as a senior advisor. Burger and D’Alessandro were alumni of Sanders’ 2016 campaign.

  • March 11, 2019: Sanders criticized working conditions at Amazon warehouses, tweeting, “Amazon must significantly improve working conditions at its warehouses and respect the constitutional right of its employees to form a union and bargain collectively for a better life.”

  • March 8, 2019: Sanders called for expanding Medicare for All by adding a long-term care provision.

  • March 5, 2019: Sanders was scheduled to make his first 2020 campaign visit to New Hampshire over the weekend.

  • March 5, 2019: Sanders signed a pledge, required by the Democratic National Committee, saying, “I will run a Democrat, accept the nomination of my party, and I will serve as a Democrat if elected."

  • March 4, 2019: Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, along with six other members of Congress, signed a pledge Monday to fight to end “forever wars” in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Niger, Somalia, and Thailand, among other countries.

  • March 2, 2019: Sanders kicked off his presidential campaign with his first rally in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday. Sanders discussed his personal background in the speech, leading Phil Johnston, former Massachusetts Democratic Party chairman, to comment, “He made the mistake in 2016 of not talking about his life’s story, his experience and struggles growing up, in contrast to Trump — he’s correcting that mistake this time.”

  • March 1, 2019: Sanders was interviewed on The View Friday morning.

• February 2019 (click to expand)

  February[edit]

  • February 26, 2019: Three key strategists for Sanders departed from his campaign citing creative differences. The consulting firm partners—Tad Devine, Mark Longabaugh and Julian Mulvey—previously worked on Sanders’ 2016 presidential bid. “We are leaving because we believe that Sen. Sanders deserves to have media consultants who share his creative vision for the campaign,” they said in a joint statement.

  • February 25, 2019: Sanders reported raising $10 million in the first week of his campaign.

  • February 25, 2019: Sanders was scheduled to hold his first campaign rally in Brooklyn, New York, on March 2. Sanders grew up in the borough and briefly attended Brooklyn College.

  • February 23, 2019: Sanders tweeted, “The people of Venezuela are enduring a serious humanitarian crisis. The Maduro government must put the needs of its people first, allow humanitarian aid into the country, and refrain from violence against protesters.” Earlier in the week, Sanders declined to call Maduro a dictator, prompting criticism from some Florida Democrats.

  • February 21, 2019: California Rep. Ro Khanna, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, and Ben Cohen, the co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, will serve as national co-chairs for the Bernie Sanders campaign.

  • February 20, 2019: Sanders raised $5.9 million in the first 24 hours of his campaign, and $6 million in the first 48 hours, from 225,000 individuals. He was also endorsed by fellow Vermont congressional delegation members Sen. Patrick Leahy and Rep. Peter Welch.

  • February 19, 2019: Sanders announced Tuesday morning that he was running for president. He ran for the office in 2016, coming in second behind Hillary Clinton and earning 46 percent of the pledged delegates at the Democratic National Convention that year. Watch his announcement video here.

• January 2019 (click to expand)

  January[edit]

  • January 31, 2019: Sanders introduced legislation to return the threshold for taxing assets transferred to an individual’s heirs to $3.5 million from $11 million.

  • January 25, 2019: A presidential announcement by Sanders was reported to be imminent, according to a report from Yahoo! News.

See also[edit]

• Democratic presidential nomination, 2020
• Presidential candidates, 2020
• Presidential election endorsements, 2020
• PredictIt markets in the 2020 presidential election
• Presidential candidate campaign travel, 2020
• Democratic presidential primary debates, 2020

Footnotes[edit]

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