BURLINGTON, Vt. — An insurgent underdog no more, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is laying the groundwork to launch a bigger presidential campaign than his first, as advisers predict he would open the 2020 Democratic presidential primary season as a political powerhouse.
A final decision has not been made, but those closest to the 77-year-old self-described democratic socialist suggest that neither age nor interest from a glut of progressive presidential prospects would dissuade him from undertaking a second shot at the presidency. And as Sanders' brain trust gathered for a retreat in Vermont over the weekend, some spoke openly about a 2020 White House bid as if it was almost a foregone conclusion.
"This time, he starts off as a front-runner, or one of the front-runners," Sanders' 2016 campaign manager John Weaver told The Associated Press, highlighting the senator's proven ability to generate massive fundraising through small-dollar donations and his ready-made network of staff and volunteers.
Weaver added: "It'll be a much bigger campaign if he runs again, in terms of the size of the operation."
Amid the enthusiasm — and there was plenty in Burlington as the Sanders Institute convened his celebrity supporters, former campaign staff and progressive policy leaders — there were also signs of cracks in Sanders' political base. His loyalists are sizing up a prospective 2020 Democratic field likely to feature a collection of ambitious liberal leaders — and not the establishment-minded Hillary Clinton.
Instead, a new generation of outspoken Democrats such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and California Sen. Kamala Harris are expected to seek the Democratic nomination. All three have embraced Sanders' call for "Medicare for All" and a $15 minimum wage, among other policy priorities he helped bring into the Democratic mainstream in the Trump era.
Acknowledging the stark differences between the 2016 and 2020 fields, Hollywood star Danny Glover, who campaigned alongside Sanders in 2016, would not commit to a second Sanders' candidacy when asked this weekend.
"I don't know what 2020 looks like right now," Glover said before taking a front-row seat for Sanders' opening remarks. "I'm going to support who I feel to be the most progressive choice."
Maybe Glover will come around. After all, they're both lunatics.
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