On Feb. 19, 2019, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders announced that he will be joining other Democrats who are running for president in 2020.  Democrats running for president in 2020. To many people this is a surprise, but whether it’s a good or bad one varies greatly. I think it’s a great surprise because he is one of the many promising Democrats on-board the boat to presidency.

In 2016, he was arguably an underdog as he ran for president for the first time. This being his second time running, he has changed his platform from a heavy emphasis on reversing economic inequality to more diverse platforms including increasing minimum wage and changing tuition for community and 4-year colleges. Although many people think Sanders is unfit for the title of President of the United States, I believe he does have a pretty strong start to his campaign.

According to Jacob Pramuk from CNBC, within the first 12 hours of the official launch of his campaign, Sanders gained nearly $4 million dollars from 150,000 donors. When asked what will be different about this campaign from his campaign in 2016, he simply stated, “We’re gonna win.”

President Trump stated that Sanders had “missed his time” back in 2016, alluding to Sanders’ age, which is 77-years-old. Personally, I don’t think that age should determine one’s ability to responsibly run and oversee a country. Although many people say Sanders is too liberal and that his ideas are extremely well- extreme, his beliefs are pretty concrete. They include –

1. Health care through the government
2. Increasing minimum wage to $15.00 (I’m in.)
3. Expanding estate tax
4. Cap the size of financial institutions
5. Address climate change and reduce carbon emissions
6. Free community college for all and free 4-year college for families with an annual income lower than $125,000

His top policy goals are Medicare for all, free college and the increase of minimum wage.

Sanders has been looked at as so leftist that Republicans often use him as an example of Democrats and how they are often too radical. Many of Sanders’s fellow candidates occupy the same belief space that he does, so he won’t be seen as such a radicalist like he was back in 2016. Many citizens are curious to whether his support will change in 2020 compared to 2016. In my opinion, the Democratic Party is looking very promising this time around, and Sanders’s campaign is one that I will be happy to follow.