Bernie Sanders started his campaign back in 2016 with a pretty low profile. No one really knew who he was, maybe they knew he was from Vermont or something of that nature, but he definitely wasn't a huge name in the Democratic Party. He eventually gained ground on Hillary Clinton, the presumptive nominee. People wrote off that she was going to be the nominee right when she entered the race. Sanders burst onto the scene when he basically tied Clinton the Iowa Caucuses. I think when people saw the results, they knew the race would be different.

After Iowa, Sanders trounced Clinton in New Hampshire by a 60-40 margin. Sanders went on to win several contests in a row later in the primary season. At the convention, Sanders supporters clearly aired their disagreements with Clinton. After WikiLeaks released documents indicating the DNC favored Clinton during the primary, Sanders supporters went into an uproar.

The Senator, who was a little-known candidate in 2016, is now one of the front runners in 2020. In a lot of polls, he squeaks out a win over Donald Trump. Sander's policies are considered to be "progressive" and he classifies himself as a "Democratic Socialist." The Democratic party has embraced some of his policies. From the environment to the economy some of his views have become mainstream. Younger people tend to gravitate towards him. He raised nearly 6 million dollars in 24 hours when he announced his campaign on February 19th, a new record.

Sanders is bringing a lot of firepower to the race, but some think that support for him may be splintered. With other candidates in the field, taking some of his policies, he may have some difficulty distinguishing himself from candidates like Tulsi Gabbard. Sanders has a bigger arsenal of people behind him, and it will surely be a battle if Joe Biden runs. We still have a lot of time until these primaries start, so don't get too excited yet. The first Democratic debate is set to be held on June, 4 months away.