Bernie Sanders announces U.S. Senate re-election bid

Former Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders will run for re-election in the 2018 midterm elections this fall.

The Vermont senator says he is determined to fight back against what he said are the divisive politics of U.S. President Donald Trump and the Republican leadership.

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“These are frightening and unprecedented times. We have a president who is not only a pathological liar, but someone who is trying to win votes by dividing our nation up based on the color of our skin, our country of origin, our religion, our gender or our sexual orientation,” Sanders said in a statement.

“If re-elected, you can be sure that I will continue to be the fiercest opponent in the Senate to the right-wing extremism of Trump and the Republican leadership.

“But being anti-Trump and anti-Republican is not enough. We need to continue our fight for a progressive agenda which will take on oligarchy, and improve the lives of working people throughout our country.”

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The 76-year-old lost the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination to Hillary Clinton in a process that former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile said was rigged in Clinton’s favour, an opinion also shared by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Sanders, who was first elected to the U.S. House in 1990 and the Senate in 2006, is considered a possible contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

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