Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will become the first official challenger to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when he launches his campaign seeking the Democratic nomination for president in 2016 on Thursday.
Sanders’ decision was first reported by Vermont Public Radio and confirmed by The Huffington Post.
Sanders’ entry into the Democratic race ensures that Hillary Clinton will face a challenge to win the support of the liberal wing of the party.
Sanders’ basic message will be that the middle class in America has been decimated in the past two decades while wealthy people and corporations have flourished.
His opposition to a proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal (T.P.P.) shows how he plans to frame this key issue of his campaign.
“If you want to understand why the middle class in America is disappearing and why we have more wealth and income inequality in America than we have had since the late 1920s, you have to address the issue of trade,” Sanders said in a phone interview on April 23.
As the longest-serving Independent member of Congress, Sanders has been a vocal critic of the influence that large corporations have on the political process.
