Bernie Sanders: 'I am running in this election to win'

Erin Kelly | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Bernie Sanders to announce presidential run | Why It Matters USA TODAY's Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page explains four reasons why Bernie Sanders's presidential run matters.

WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders knows he faces an uphill battle against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, but he believes he can win by reaching out to overworked, underpaid Americans anxious for change.

"I've been traveling around the country for the last year trying to ascertain whether there really is grass-roots support in terms of people standing up and being prepared to take on the billionaire class," the independent senator said in an interview Wednesday with USA TODAY as he prepared to officially announce his candidacy Thursday. "I believe that there is."

The fiery, 73-year-old Vermonter said Americans are disenchanted with "the greed of corporate America" and with a political establishment that doesn't talk about the issues that affect their lives.

"I believe they want a fundamental change so that government works for ordinary Americans and not just billionaires," said Sanders, who is known for his tousled white hair and Brooklyn accent.

Acknowledging that former secretary of State Clinton will be a formidable fundraiser, Sanders says he can compete by attracting small contributions from millions of Americans and mobilizing young people and other volunteers to help him wage a nationwide campaign.

"I am running in this election to win," he said. "We've got a long path forward. Most people in America have never heard of Bernie Sanders. More than 90% of Americans have heard of Hillary Clinton. ... I will absolutely be out-spent. But I do believe we have a chance to raise significant amounts of money through small, individual contributions."

About 60% of the money he received in his successful 2012 campaign for a second Senate term came from small contributions from individual donors, Sanders said. He won that election with 71% of the vote.

Sanders said it is up to Democratic voters — not him — to say whether he is a better candidate than Clinton, whom he did not criticize at all during the interview.

"We'll let the American people make that decision," he said. "Having a serious debate about issues that affect working families is important for the Democratic Party and the United States of America. Debate is a good thing."

Sanders' record is considerably more liberal than Clinton's. He voted against the Iraq War while Clinton voted for it as a senator from New York. He is strongly opposed to bipartisan legislation to give the president sweeping authority to negotiate free-trade deals, which he believes will cost some Americans their jobs. Clinton has walked a fine line on the issue, neither opposing nor endorsing the bill.

"Sen. Sanders has a strong record of supporting working families," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Wednesday, while stopping short of endorsing any candidate.

Sanders has always run for election in Vermont as an independent and has criticized both major parties for being too beholden to corporate interests. But he said that running for president as an independent was just not feasible.

"It would require an enormous amount of time, energy and money just to get on the ballot in 50 states," he said. "That's just the way it is. It made a lot more sense for me to work within the Democratic primary system where it's much easier to get on the ballot and have a chance to debate the other candidates."

Sanders will force Clinton to engage in a real primary debate, said a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee.

"There's no doubt Sen. Sanders will force a spirited discussion within the Democrat Party on the issues, something Hillary Clinton has sought to avoid in her pursuit of a coronation," said RNC press secretary Allison Moore.

Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Holly Shulman said Democrats "expect a competitive primary for the Democratic nomination."

Sanders will bring populism to the Democratic primary, said a spokesman for the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

"The goal of many progressives in 2016 is to ensure that the election is fought over big, bold, economic populist ideas like expanding Social Security benefits, a national goal of debt-free college, Wall Street reform, public financing of campaigns and creating millions of clean-energy jobs," said Adam Green, the group's co-founder. "Bernie Sanders will certainly help pull the debate in that direction."

But some progressive groups said they are still hoping for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to run. Warren has said she does not intend to enter the Democratic primary.

"Bernie is a fantastic leader who has a huge track record in fighting against income inequality," said Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America, the Vermont-based progressive group that grew out of former governor Howard Dean's 2004 run for president. "He is a needed voice in the primary. We're excited he's running."

Still, Chamberlain said, DFA will continue to try to draft Warren into the race because the group's members favored her by 20% over all other possible Democratic candidates in a survey conducted in November. Sanders came in second, followed closely by Clinton.

"Our members believe that Elizabeth Warren is the champion of our time," Chamberlain said.

Leaders of MoveOn.org also said they like Sanders but remain committed to their Run Warren Run campaign encouraging the Massachusetts senator to enter the race.

But other progressive groups said Sanders is their standard-bearer. And Sanders said he believes he already is winning over Warren supporters.

"Sen. Sanders has made his career helping the middle class, speaking truth to power and never taking corporate contributions," said Mike Hersh, communications coordinator for the Progressive Democrats of America. "He's always been a very independent voice and independent thinker. Voters are looking for someone who is his own person who is out to represent them and not anybody else."

Sanders said he knows he's an underdog and that political analysts may believe he can't win. But he points to his upset victories to become mayor of Burlington, Vt., in 1981, to beat an incumbent congressman in 1990, and to fend off one of the wealthiest businessmen in Vermont to win his first Senate term in 2006.

"It probably would not be a good idea for people to underestimate me," he said.

Follow @ErinVKelly on Twitter