Bernie Sanders is a politician.
Bernard Sanders ( born September 8 , 1941 ) is an American politician who has been the junior United States Senator from Vermont since 2007 . Sanders became the ranking minority member on the Senate Budget Committee in January 2015 ; he had previously been chair of the Senate Veterans ' Affairs Committee for two years . A self-described democratic socialist , Sanders is pro-labor and emphasizes reversing economic inequality . Sanders announced his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination on April 30 , 2015 .