Recent News

Why Hillary’s Embracing Bernie

It was only a tweet, but one could detect a certain jubilation in Hillary Clinton’s voice as she “welcomed” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders – the senator so far to the left he’s not even a registered Democrat — into the presidential race. “I agree with Bernie. Focus must be on helping America’s middle class. GOP would hold them back,” Clinton tweeted. To be sure everyone noticed, she signed the tweet “H.” This is really me talking, everybody!

POLITICO Caucus: Baltimore riots hurt O’Malley’s already slim chances

Martin O’Malley’s political career, which started on the streets of Baltimore, may also end there: Half of Democratic insiders in the early states believe this week’s riots have hurt the former mayor’s already long-shot presidential hopes.

The POLITICO Caucus, our weekly bipartisan survey of the most important activists, operatives and elected officials in Iowa and New Hampshire, found that Democrats are evenly split over whether racial unrest will be a minor or significant issue in the presidential campaign.

Mr. Sanders starts with the support of some of the most liberal activists in the Democratic Party, the sort of progressives who favored Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio in his quixotic presidential bids. Just how abundant these followers actually are will depend on how many other candidates decide to challenge Hillary Rodham Clinton from the left. Mr. Sanders will need to expand his reach beyond a heavily white, college-town demographic to other elements of the Democratic coalition, notably African-Americans.

Environmental groups now have the coveted candidate they think will push Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton to the left on climate change while elevating the issue in the national dialogue in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is expected to officially announce his bid as a Democratic presidential candidate Thursday. And it’s clear that environmental groups are pleased with his presence in the race.

Bernie Sanders Enters the 2016 Race for the White House

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders announced today he will run for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016, making him the second Democrat* to officially join the race and the fifth overall. The New York Times reports this morning on Sanders relatively low-key announcement:

Bernie Sanders Announces He Is Running for President

Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, announced Thursday that he was running for president as a Democrat, injecting a progressive voice into the contest and ... Read More >>

Let’s get something out of the way. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont socialist who now appears ready to jump into the Democratic presidential race, is not a serious threat to Hillary Clinton. But at the same time, he does have the potential to cause her headaches.

VPR News has learned from several sources that Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders will announce his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday.

Sanders will release a short statement on that day and then hold a major campaign kickoff in Vermont in several weeks.