Washington (CNN) Sen. Bernie Sanders will head to Washington next Monday for a town hall moderated by CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

The Independent senator from Vermont announced his candidacy for the presidency early Tuesday and will address a host of issues at the town hall, which will air at 8 p.m. ET.

Sanders, who was the runner-up for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2016 election, is poised to run a campaign that focuses largely on grassroots work from his supporters.

"I am asking you to join me today as part of an unprecedented and historic grassroots campaign that will begin with at least a million people from across the country," he wrote in an email to supporters following an interview on Tuesday with Vermont Public Radio.

Sanders enters the 2020 race as one of the frontrunners -- a remarkable turn for the democratic socialist who, three years ago, was viewed as a protest candidate from the political fringe. Today, Sanders is one of the most popular politicians among Democratic voters and his policy agenda -- a suite of progressive proposals to expand health care, broaden the social safety net and make higher education free -- has been embraced by many of the Democratic Party's leading figures.