Sen. Bernie Sanders Gears Up to Launch 2016 Presidential Campaign

It’s on, as of Thursday: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is slated to announce that he’s throwing in to join the roster of candidates for the 2016 election. He’ll be running as a Democrat.

Word of the self-described socialist’s presidential intentions hit The Washington Post’s radar Tuesday:

Sanders shares many of the same political stances as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a darling of liberals who has repeatedly said she is not running for president. That means Sanders may end up serving as the most prominent voice for the left wing of the party — particularly voters who are suspicious of Clinton and her close ties to Wall Street.

Sanders’s backers said they hope he can serve as a proxy for Warren’s disappointed drafters, helping to animate small-dollar Democratic donors with his brash persona and speeches condemning the “billionaire class.”

[…] Sanders chose to run in the Democratic primary due to his interest in participating in the party’s primary debates, according to confidants. If he ran as an independent, he would not be able to engage with the national Democratic infrastructure or act as a direct foil to Clinton in the early primaries and caucuses.

Perhaps fittingly, Vermont Public Radio was first out of the gate Tuesday with news of the 73-year-old senator’s plans to run for America’s highest office.

Check out Sanders’ recent commentary on a host of topics as published on Truthdig, here.

–Posted by Kasia Anderson