Many are asking whether Bernie Sanders will run for president or be chosen as vice president for Kamala Harris with Joe Biden dropping out of the 2024 presidential race. The 82-year-old senator from Vermont (who will be 83 on September 8, 2024) has had two presidential campaigns, the first in 2016 where Hilary Clinton became the Democratic nominee and the second in 2020 where Joe Biden won the candidacy. Will the third attempt be the charm? Here’s what we know so far about Sanders possibly running to be the Democratic candidate against Donald Trump or if he may be picked as VP on the Harris ticket.
Why could Bernie Sanders be running for president or be chosen for vice president?
Bernie Sanders is keeping his options open as far as running for president at the time of writing. As of July 23, he has yet to endorse Kamala Harris and there’s no word of him being on the list of potential VP picks for Harris.
Back in April 2022, in a memo from Faiz Shakir who is a close advisor of Sanders, the senator stated that he “has not ruled out another run for president” specifically “in the event of an open 2024 Democratic presidential primary.” While Harris has been endorsed by Joe Biden, no clear frontrunner has won a majority of delegates thus far, so the upcoming DNC will technically be an “open” convention. That said, if no one runs against Harris in the 2024 Democratic primary, then having an “open” convention means very little.
In response to Biden dropping out, Sanders wrote in a July 21 post on X that he “has served our country with honor and dignity” and called him “the most pro-working class president in modern American history.” On July 19, Sanders appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he criticized Trump’s policy on climate change and began the show saying “I accept your nomination!” to chants of his name from the audience.
Sanders has been a staunch supporter of Biden and called for him to stay in the race. According to a report by Slate, this is because he was able to get policy concessions in Biden’s 100-day plan, such as the expansion of Social Security and eliminating medical debt, in exchange for his unwavering support for the president.
