Spokesman: Sanders 2016 run choice by April 30

MONTPELIER – A spokesman for Sen. Bernie Sanders said Sunday the Vermont Independent will decide by the end of the month whether to enter the 2016 White House race.

In the meantime, he's urging newly announced presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to speak out strongly about wealth inequality and climate change.

In a statement issued through a spokesman, Sanders said Clinton and other candidates must address "the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality that is crushing our middle class; high unemployment and low wages; the threat that global climate change presents to our future and the future of our children; and the fact that democracy itself is at risk because of the catastrophic decision of the Supreme Court in the Citizens United case."

Sanders, who describes himself as a "democratic socialist," frequently cites the high court's 2010 decision, which said the government can't restrict the size of independent campaign expenditures made by a nonprofit corporation, as a key consideration as he approaches his decision whether to run.

"We are … trying to determine whether or not we can raise the very substantial sums of money one needs in this day and age to run a campaign against people who have unlimited sums of money," he told New Hampshire Public Radio during a recent visit to that early primary state.

He recently expressed his disappointment at the outcome of the Chicago mayoral race, in which incumbent Mayor Rahm Emanuel spent $23 million in his successful bid to defeat liberal challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia.

Sanders told The Huffington Post the Chicago result was another result of a court decision that told "billionaires you can now spend as much money as you want on elections."

He added, "I am worried about whether any candidate who represents the working class and the middle class of this country will ever be able to beat the billionaire class."

Sanders had told The Associated Press in December he expected to announce his plans by March. Spokesman Michael Briggs noted on Sunday that comment came before Sanders was named ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee. He spent much of March tied up in budget negotiations, Briggs said. Sanders has been a vocal critic of the Republican-crafted budget plan that emerged.

"Bernie has been traveling around the country speaking before very large crowds and he's been on the phone with a whole lot of people," Briggs said in an email. "He is trying to ascertain whether or not there is the grassroots support -- in terms of a national volunteer base and small-donor campaign contributors -- to mount a successful campaign … That decision will be made within a few weeks, certainly by the end of the month."

While some more left-leaning Democrats have criticized Clinton as being too close to Wall Street, for her support for international trade deals and on some foreign policy issues, Sanders has steered clear of attacking her directly.

In his statement Sunday, Sanders called Clinton, a former U.S. senator and secretary of state, "an experienced and well-qualified leader."