Bernard Sanders (lahir 8 September 1941) adalah seorang politisi Amerika Serikat yang telah menjabat Senator Amerika Serikat junior mewakili Vermont sejak 2007. Sebagai wakil tunggal Vermont sejak 1991 hingga 2007, ia merupakan politikus independen dengan masa jabatan terlama sepanjang sejarah kongres Amerika Serikat. Ia juga merupakan anggota kaukus Partai Demokrat. Sanders maju sebagai calon presiden pada tahun 2016, tetapi tidak dicalonkan partai. Ia maju lagi untuk pemilihan presiden tahun 2020.Sebagai seseorang yang mengaku berhaluan sosialis demokrat dan progresif, Sanders menentang kesenjangan ekonomi. Terkait kebijakan dalam negeri, ia mendukung hak-hak buruh serta layanan kesehatan universal dan negeri, cuti hamil berupah, dan pendidikan tinggi gratis. Terkait kebijakan luar negeri, ia mendukung pemangkasan anggaran militer, mendorong diplomasi dan kerja sama internasional, dan mengutamakan hak tenaga kerja dan persoalan lingkungan dalam merundingkan perjanjian dagang internasional. Sejumlah pengamat menilai pandangan-pandangan Sanders berhasil menggeser ideologi Partai Demokrat setelah ia maju sebagai calon presiden pada tahun 2016.
Sanders lahir dan besar di Brooklyn, New York City. Ia sempat kuliah di Brooklyn College, kemudian pindah ke Universitas Chicago dan lulus tahun 1964. Saat masih mahasiswa, ia aktif sebagai koordinator unjuk rasa Congress of Racial Equality dan Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee pada masa-masa perjuangan gerakan hak sipil di Amerika Serikat. Setelah menetap di Vermont tahun 1968, Sanders terjun ke politik dan beberapa kali mencalonkan diri lewat partai ketiga pada awal hingga pertengahan 1970-an, tetapi kalah terus. Sebagai politikus independen, ia terpilih sebagai wali kota Burlington tahun 1981 dengan selisih sepuluh suara. Ia terpilih lagi sebanyak tiga kali. Ia menang pemilu legislatif Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat A.S. pada tahun 1990 mewakili daerah pemilihan tunggal Vermont; ia kemudian mendirikan Kaukus Progresif Kongres. Sanders menjabat sebagai anggota DPR selama 16 tahun, lalu terpilih sebagai anggota Senat tahun 2006. Ia terpilih lagi sebagai senator pada tahun 2012 dan 2018.
Pada April 2015, Sanders mengumumkan maju sebagai calon presiden Amerika Serikat dari jalur Partai Demokrat. Meski peluang menangnya kecil, ia memenangi 23 pemilihan pendahuluan dan kaukus dan 43% suara delegasi partai (55% sisanya dimenangi Hillary Clinton). Kampanye Sanders dikenal karena antusiasme pendukungnya, tidak bergantung kepada sumbangan perusahaan, industri keuangan, maupun Super PAC. Pada Juli 2016, ia secara resmi mendukung Clinton dalam kampanye pemilunya melawan Donald Trump dari Partai Republik, tetapi ia juga mendorong pendukungnya untuk terus menggaungkan "revolusi politik" yang ia mulai. Pada Februari 2019, Sanders mengumumkan maju lagi sebagai calon presiden dan memperebutkan pencalonan resmi partai bersama belasan calon lainnya.
Bernard Sanders (born September 8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States Senator from Vermont since 2007. Vermont's at-large Congressman from 1991 to 2007, he is the longest serving independent in U.S. congressional history and a member of the Democratic caucus. Sanders ran unsuccessfully for the 2016 Democratic nomination for president and is running again in 2020. A self-described democratic socialist and progressive, Sanders is known for his opposition to economic inequality. On domestic policy, he broadly supports labor rights, and has supported universal and single-payer healthcare, paid parental leave, tuition-free tertiary education, and an ambitious Green New Deal to create jobs addressing global warming. On foreign policy, he broadly supports reducing military spending, pursuing more diplomacy and international cooperation, and putting greater emphasis on labor rights and environmental concerns when negotiating international trade agreements. Commentators have noted the strong influence his views have had on Democratic Party politics since his 2016 presidential campaign.
Sanders was born and raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, and attended Brooklyn College before graduating from the University of Chicago in 1964. While a student he was an active protest organizer for the Congress of Racial Equality and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the civil rights movement. After settling in Vermont in 1968, Sanders ran unsuccessful third-party political campaigns in the early to mid-1970s. As an independent, he was elected mayor of Burlington in 1981 by a margin of ten votes. He was reelected three times. He won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1990, representing Vermont's at-large congressional district; he later co-founded the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Sanders served as a U.S. Representative for 16 years before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006. He was reelected to the Senate in 2012 and 2018.
In April 2015 Sanders announced his campaign for the 2016 Democratic nomination for president of the United States. Despite initially low expectations, he went on to win 23 primaries and caucuses and approximately 43% of pledged delegates, to Hillary Clinton's 55%. His campaign was noted for its supporters' enthusiasm, as well as for his rejection of large donations from corporations, the financial industry, and any associated Super PAC. In July 2016 he formally endorsed Clinton in her general election campaign against Republican Donald Trump, while urging his supporters to continue the "political revolution" his campaign began. In February 2019 Sanders announced a second presidential campaign, joining multiple other Democratic candidates pursuing the party nomination.
