Senator Bernie Sanders, the 77-year-old Brooklynite, has officially entered the running to become the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee. He raised more money in his first 24 hours than any other candidate did in their first day, partly because he's one of the higher profile candidate to join the race; he also ran for the nomination in 2016 and ultimately lost to Hillary Clinton.

Sanders, who currently represents Vermont, is a self-described democratic socialist and a registered independent who caucuses with Democrats. He's been credited with pushing the Democratic Party further to the left and championing platforms like Medicare for All and combating climate change, but more on all of that later.

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I'm running for president. I am asking you to join me today as part of an unprecedented and historic grassroots campaign that will begin with at least 1 million people from across the country. Say you're in: https://t.co/KOTx0WZqRf pic.twitter.com/T1TLH0rm26 — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 19, 2019

Before joining the U.S. Senate, Sanders was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and, before that, he was the mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Below, ELLE.com breaks down where he stands on the nine issues voters cared about most going into the midterm elections.

Health Care

Sanders was the lead sponsor on the original 2017 Medicare for All bill, which many progressive Democrats have since signed onto. Medicare for All is a plan for a single-payer health care system run by the government, according to the New York Times, and has already become a major talking point for 2020 Democratic contenders. Medicare for All would replace the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

Sanders has also introduced bills to lower prescription drug prices and has supported legalizing marijuana for years.

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The time is long overdue for us to take marijuana off the federal government’s list of outlawed drugs. — Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) October 29, 2015

The Economy

In January 2019, Sanders wrote an op-ed for The Guardian titled, "Trump's economy is great for billionaires, not for working people." In the op-ed, he writes that billionaires and large corporations should pay their fair share in taxes, that the U.S. should expand social security programs and lower student debt, and that we should create jobs by investing in infrastructure.

This past October, he also introduced a bill that would break up some of the country's largest banks. According to The Hill, the bill would "force the federal government to dismantle any bank with total exposure greater than 3 percent of U.S. GDP, which is roughly equal to $584 billion." In response to the bill, Sanders said, "No financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of Americans or to our nation’s economic well being."

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Immigration

According to PBS, the senator supports restructuring—not abolishing—ICE and wants to establish a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. In 2013, he voted for a Senate bill that proposed such a pathway, as well as called for doubling the amount of border patrol officers and added hundreds of miles of fence on the border.

All in all, Sanders supports comprehensive immigration reform and wants to protect DACA recipients, writing in 2017, "I will do everything I possibly can to protect these people from being thrown out of the only country they have ever known."

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How Women Are Treated in the U.S.

Sanders has been historically pro-choice and has been vocal about wanting to end the gender pay gap. He also has made paid family and medical leave a part of his campaign and has supported the Family Act, which would increase payroll taxes in order to fund the leave, according to The Hill.

The Washington Post reports that Sanders has also co-sponsored legislation, called the Paycheck Fairness Act, that would make it illegal for employers to come after workers who ask about wages.

When asked about abortion access in a Meet the Press interview, he fumbled his answer. Chuck Todd asked Sanders if he was “concerned about this idea that people may try to worry about the sex of a child, or essentially, are those types of restrictions on abortions something you’re open to?” The senator's response? "That, I mean, that’s a concern … that’s an issue that society has got to deal with, and it is of concern.”

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WATCH: "I don't know how at this particular point I would deal with" sex-selection abortion in the law, 2020 candidate Bernie Sanders says #MTP pic.twitter.com/oMkm7lLaOD — Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 19, 2019

Todd followed up and asked how he would “deal with that in the law?” Sanders replied, “I don’t know how, at this particular point. I would deal with it, but that is an issue we really have got to deal with.”

Gun Policy

Sanders supports a ban on assault weapons, a ban on high-capacity magazines, and expanding background checks. However, his record on gun control has been mixed, and he has admitted that he comes from a state with little gun control legislation, though many of the guns used there are for hunting.



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When interviewed by two Parkland students in 2018, he said, "There’s no one there who’s going to tell you that they’re not outraged by school shootings. But I really do think it comes down to the power of a very powerful interest, this is the NRA. And whether, in this case, mostly Republicans, will have the courage to stand up to them. And some will. But the job of, I think, grassroots America is to make sure that we have a majority of people [in Congress]. We’re close to that. We are very close to that. It can be done. It’s going to take a lot of grassroots activism to do it."

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He emphasized the issue in his campaign announcement speech, saying, “I’m running for president because we must end the epidemic of gun violence in this country. We need to take on the NRA, expand background checks, end the gun show loophole, and ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons.”

Taxes

In order to pay for many of Sanders' policies, he has proposed raising taxes on wealthy estates, corporations, large Wall Street firms, and the richest one percent, according to the Washington Post. He has also supported a carbon tax as a way to fight climate change. (Learn more about the carbon tax, here.)

He recently announced what he called a "revolutionary" proposal to cancel all $1.6 trillion of outstanding student loan debt in the country. “I don’t often use the phrase, but today we are, in fact, offering a revolutionary proposal,” he told a crowd at an event outside the Capitol. “Today, we are entering a proposal which will allow every person in this country to get all of the education that they need to live out their dreams.”

It would also "eliminate tuition and fees at public four-year institutions and community colleges. It would cap student loan interest rates; expand Pell grants by allowing them to cover books, housing and transportation; and cancel tuition at trade schools and apprenticeship programs. It would also channel more funding to historically black universities, tribal colleges and other minority institutions," according to The New York Times. However, as the newspaper points out in a separate piece, this is a potentially problematic plan as it wouldn't eliminate future student debt.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an apparent fan of the bill. “What a beautiful day to liberate ourselves from student debt," she reportedly said in response. “It was literally easier for me to become the youngest woman in American history elected to Congress than it is to pay off my student loan debt. That should tell you everything about the state of this.”

Foreign Affairs

A former anti-war activist, Sanders told the Huffington Post that he supports pulling U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan but in "a planned and coordinated way," as opposed to the Trump administration's "erratic and reckless approach." In December 2018, he also sponsored a resolution to withdraw U.S. support from the war in Yemen, according to NPR.

Income and Wealth Distribution

Another one of Sanders' staple platforms is a $15/hour federal minimum wage, which, again, other Democrats have since picked up as part of their campaigns.

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The federal minimum wage of $7.25 is a starvation wage. That is why I, along with many other members of Congress, will introduce legislation this week to raise that wage to $15 an hour. If you work 40 hours a week, you should not live in poverty. — Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 14, 2019

His insistence even caused Amazon to raise its minimum wage to $15/hour back in October 2018. After the announcement, Sanders wrote on Twitter, "What Mr. Bezos has done today is not only enormously important for Amazon’s hundreds of thousands of employees, it could well be a shot heard around the world. I urge corporate leaders around the country to follow Mr. Bezos' lead."

He also introduced the "College for All" Act in 2017, which would provide free tuition at community colleges and four-year public colleges for families that earn $125,000 or less per year.

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Confirmation

Because Sanders is not a part of the Senate Judiciary Committee, aka the committee that questioned Kavanaugh during his hearings, he didn't get as much face-time on the issue as some other presidential contenders like Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, or Amy Klobuchar. But he did vote 'no' on the confirmation and gave a statement, saying, "I listened to Dr. Ford, and I listened to Judge Kavanaugh. I believe Dr. Ford. Brett Kavanaugh does not belong on the Supreme Court. If Judge Kavanaugh wants to clear his name of these very serious charges he should immediately demand a thorough FBI investigation. If not, the Senate should reject his nomination." He also gave a speech about Kavanaugh's nomination and his reasons for voting against the judge:

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And one more thing…

Recently, Sanders has had to respond to allegations of sexism and pay discrimination in his 2016 presidential campaign. According to CNN, women reported instances of sexual misconduct, uncomfortable requests, like being asked to sleep in rooms with unknown male coworkers, and large pay disparities between them and their male counterparts.

Back in January 2019, he responded, telling CNN, "I certainly apologize to any woman who felt she was not treated appropriately. And of course, if I run, we will do better next time." When asked if that meant he did not know about the allegations at the time, he said, "Yes, I was a little bit busy running around the country trying to make the case."



One former staffer told the New York Times, "I did experience sexual harassment during the campaign, and there was no one who would or could help."

Madison Feller Madison is a staff writer at ELLE.com, covering news, politics, and culture.

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