Bernie Sanders caught the political world by storm in 2016 by nearly capturing the Democratic nomination on small donations and a similarly small campaign. But as he eyes 2020, that could change.
Speaking to The Associated Press in an interview published on Monday, Sanders’ 2016 campaign manager Jeff Weaver said that if his former boss decides to run again for president in 2020, he’ll have “a much bigger campaign.” He said that the operation’s larger size reflects the fact that as of now, Sanders is the “front-runner, or one of the front-runners,” according to the AP.
Sanders wasn’t expected to be a major factor in the Democratic 2016 nomination, but attracted widespread support from people who were attracted to his progressive policies. Sanders had a small campaign in comparison to the much larger Hillary Clinton campaign, and largely relied on small donations from supporters across the country.
Sanders, who is 77 and would be 79 if he runs in 2020, won’t find himself against a single front-runner in Hillary Clinton, though. This time around, there are many others, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, among others, that are all aiming at harnessing some of the magic Sanders enjoyed during his campaign.
Having a larger campaign to fend off some of those competitors, therefore, could be important. And it could give Sanders some of the money and foundation he didn’t have the first time around.
But for now, Sanders isn’t saying he’ll actually run in 2020, even if all signs are pointing to him returning to the campaign trail.
