Independent senator from Vermont will provide progressive test for Clinton as a Democrat in battle for party’s presidential nomination

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator whose clarion warnings on climate change and full-throated calls for banking reforms have made him a favorite among progressives, plans on Thursday to announce that he will challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for US president, his advisers have indicated.

“Bernie for a while has said he’s going to make a decision at the end of the month,” said a close adviser. “On Thursday, he’ll put out a statement. Unless something dramatically changes in next 48 hours, he’s decided he’s going to run for president, and he’ll be launching his campaign in May up in Vermont.”

Sanders, 73, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1990 and won a Senate election in 2006. He is the ranking Democrat on the powerful budget committee.

While Sanders would not be able to draw on the kind of national fundraising or staffing network that could make him a major threat to Clinton in the early running of a primary campaign, his record on social and economic issues could put pressure on the former secretary of state to stake out positions further to the left.

The Sanders adviser told the Guardian that the two-term senator will mount “a real campaign that will raise significant resources”, focusing fundraising efforts “on low dollar donors online”.

Though Sanders is one of two Independents in the Senate, the Democratic ticket would be a natural fit for him in a presidential run, advisers said.

“That’s not an issue,” a close adviser said, noting that Vermont does not require party registration. “Bernie will run as a Democrat.”

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The Vermont senator has long contemplated a presidential run and made repeated trips to states that hold early nominating contests like Iowa and New Hampshire. He even held a secret conference call with potential supporters in Iowa two weeks ago.

Sanders boasts a strong record on the issues closest to the progressive core – climate change, same-sex marriage, civil liberties, diplomacy abroad. He voted against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. He favors a single-payer healthcare system and he co-sponsored legislation in 2007 to cap carbon emissions.

In 2010, Sanders spoke for more than eight hours against a deal between the Obama administration and congressional Republicans that extended George W Bush tax cuts. The Obama administration came under fierce criticism from the left for leaving in place the cuts, which disproportionately returned tax receipts to the wealthiest Americans.

Sanders is a Brooklyn-born transplant to Vermont. He served as mayor of Burlington for eight years.