Bernie Sanders

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Bernie Sanders attended the University of Chicago, graduating in 1964. During his tenure at college he was an active participant in demonstrations regarding civil rights, and worked with both the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee and the Congress of Racial Equality. He settled in Vermont where he began his political career, and was elected the mayor of Burlington in 1981 as an Independent. Sanders was a co-founder of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in 1991, and served as a congressman for the state of Vermont for 16 years. In 2006 Sanders was elected to the U.S. Senate and lobbied for campaign finance reform, corporate welfare, LGBT rights, parental leave and universal healthcare; Sanders considered himself to be a democratic socialist. In 2010 Sanders created a buzz in Washington after filibustering against the proposition that Bush's tax cuts be extended. Sanders was reelected to the Senate in 2012, and became a Democrat in 2015. In April of 2015, Sanders publicly announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination in the 2016 Presidential race. Running against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, a major conceit of Sanders' campaign was his refusal to accept any donations from Super PACs, preferring instead to source campaign financing through individual donations. Sanders utilized social media and the enthusiasm of millennials who felt disillusioned by big government to gain momentum in his grassroots campaign. After an often-contentious primary battle, Sanders ended his campaign on the first day of the 2016 Democratic National Convention with an emotional speech closing Clinton's nomination roll call.