After watching the GOP debate last Thursday, two very prominent thoughts stuck with me. The first was that Donald Trump has absolutely no business winning the Republican nomination. The second was that nearly all of the present candidates considered it a given that Hillary Clinton was going to win the Democratic nomination. This struck me as rather odd, especially considering the support Sanders has been garnering in the past few months. While the former first lady has been pulling ahead of her competitors in the polls, the fact remains that Sen. Bernie Sanders should still be considered a viable candidate for the Democratic nomination.

Sanders' platform, which has remained largely unchanged throughout his political career, is a reflection of what many modern voters rather desperately need. While the gentlemen participating in last Thursday's debate pointedly ignored issues such as massive student debt, climate change, and gun control, Sen. Sanders made his position on all of this and more clear long before he announced his presidency. He has acknowledged racial and economic inequalities and injustices since the '60s, advocates for a living wage, and has a known contempt for mixing politics and big business. More recently, Sanders has presented a plan to Congress for debt-free college, led the opposition against the Keystone pipeline, and has made sound connections between the abuse of firearms and the general mistreatment of mental illness in the United States.

With such progressive ideas, it would not be surprising for many Americans to consider Sanders too liberal to be president, especially when considering that he ran for Senate as a Democratic Socialist. The fact is, however, that an ever-increasing number of Americans, particularly millennials, agree with what Sen. Sanders has to say. When it comes down to it, what many people need at this point is a change that starts at the federal level and can be felt at home. In many ways, this is what Sanders is attempting to bring to the table. Too many Americans, on both the left and the right, agree with Sanders for him to be dismissed as a marginal player in the race to the White House.

One thing is certain when it comes to Bernie Sanders: his ideas and beliefs can no longer be dismissed. Both Hillary Clinton and the Republican nominee must be prepared to answer to progressives if they want any hope of appealing to voters. Hopefully, this means that positive changes are on the way, whether they come from Bernie Sanders or not.