Bernie Sanders is a third-term independent U.S. senator from Vermont. While Sanders repeatedly has been elected as an independent and describes himself as a Democratic socialist, he caucuses with the Democratic Party in the Senate and twice has sought the party’s nomination for president. In 2016, Sanders lost the nomination to Hillary Clinton, but his “political revolution” rooted in anti-establishment rhetoric and policies that push for economic equality garnered far more support than pundits and political analysts anticipated. The success of that campaign also helped move Clinton’s platform leftward with many of his ideas from that contest gaining mainstream support this time around, including a $15 federal minimum wage, “Medicare for All” and climate change legislation.