Dem
51
GOP
49
Allegedly, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was considering retirement. We found that hard to swallow, and yesterday, we were proven right to be skeptical, as he announced that he will stand for election for a fourth term to the Senate. Inasmuch as Vermont is quite blue, and he has cleared 65% of the vote in each of his previous three elections, he's a shoo-in to win a fourth. Assuming Sanders serves to the end of a fourth term, ending in 2031, he'll be 89.
Sanders explained to reporters yesterday that the deciding factor for him was the lack of a successor as spokesperson for the nation's progressives. He thinks Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) will eventually be able to assume the mantle, but she's not there yet. We don't doubt there's some truth to this, but we kinda suspect that Sanders is quite enjoying himself right now, and doesn't want to give up his prominent position in American politics. He is at the height of his power, and is probably the third-most important member of the Senate, behind Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), by virtue of being not only the preeminent spokesperson for the left, but also the chair of the powerful Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
There are three other candidates in the race right now, one an independent, one a Democrat, one a Republican. All of them are perennial candidates who have run for office before and been crushed. They can now look forward to another crushing. (Z)