Bernie Sanders
 Bernie Sanders     | |||||||||||||||||
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 Bernie Sanders upstaged by a bird in Portland[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | Bernard Sanders 8 September 1941 Brooklyn, New York City | ||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Brooklyn College, University of Chicago | ||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Jew | ||||||||||||||||
| Children | • 1 • 3 step-children | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Deborah Shiling | ||||||||||||||||
| Party | Liberty Union, Independent, Democratic | ||||||||||||||||
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Bernard "Bernie" Sanders (born 8 September 1941), an American politician and US Senator from Vermont, is a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination in the United States presidential election, 2016.
At the end of March 2016, although Hillary Clinton was leading Bernie Sanders in the overall delegate count (without superdelegates) by 1,243 to 975, Sanders was reducing her lead by winning convincingly in the Hawaii, Washington and Alaska caucuses. The Wisconsin primary on 5 April 2016 is expected to be hotly contested.[2]
Politician
Bernie Sanders became a member of the Democratic Party in 2015, having been the longest-serving independent in US congressional history, though his caucusing with the Democrats entitled him to committee assignments and at times gave Democrats a majority. Sanders became the ranking minority member on the Senate Budget Committee in January 2015 and had previously served for two years as chair of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. He favours policies similar to those of social democratic parties in Europe, particularly those of the Nordic countries, and has built a reputation as a leading progressive voice on issues such as campaign finance reform, corporate welfare, global warming, income inequality, LGBT rights, parental leave, and universal healthcare. Sanders has long been critical of US foreign policy and was an early and outspoken opponent of the Iraq War. He is also outspoken on civil liberties and civil rights, particularly criticising racial discrimination in the criminal justice system as well as advocating for privacy rights against mass surveillance policies such as the US Patriot Act and the NSA surveillance operations.[3]
