Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VM) will take a "hard look" at a third presidential campaign in 2024 should President Joe Biden decline to run again, one of his closest advisers has said.
The 81-year-old senator from Vermont previously made unsuccessful attempts at the Democratic nomination in 2016 and 2020, losing to Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden in respective cases.
"I assume that he would give it a hard look … I don’t want to make the judgment for him. Obviously, it would be his choice to make. But I assume that he would want to reevaluate it,” said Faiz Shakir, one of Sanders’ political advisers, in an interview with CBS News.
A self-styled "democratic socialist," Sanders is widely regarded as the standard bearer for left-wing American politics with policies such as universal healthcare and staunch criticism of U.S. foreign policy.
Despite being a popular figure within the Democratic Party grassroots, Sanders would be 83 by the 2024 presidential election and 87 by the time he finished a full term. If he were to complete a second term, he would be 91 by its completion.
Biden, meanwhile, who a majority of voters believe is suffering from early-onset dementia or some other degenerative disease, is only one year younger than Sanders. In August this year, Sanders refused to be drawn on whether he would support Biden's bid for re-election.
“Right now, my concern is electing more Democrats in this midterm election so we can finally address the needs of working families," Sanders said at the time. "That’s where my mind is right now.”
