Bernie Sanders’ son, Levi Sanders, might be making a run for New Hampshire’s first Congressional district this year, ABC News reports.
Sanders, who was a senior policy strategist for his father’s 2016 presidential campaign, told Vice News in an interview, “Oh absolutely, I’m definitely considering it. I’m excited, motivated, and interested in the race.”
“I’m just dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s,” Sanders added.
A senior adviser to Levi Sanders told ABC News that Sanders is “in the stages of deciding” whether he will run for Congress, and is talking it over with his potential constituents.
According to The Washington Examiner, Sanders’ policy platform would be very similar to his father’s. Sanders told Vice News that he would also advocate for medicare for all and free college tuition, just like his father.
Democrat Rep. Carol Shea-Porter’s seat, who currently holds the seat for the first Congressional district in New Hampshire, is retiring, according to The Washington Examiner, and seven Democrats, three Republicans and one Libertarian are currently looking to take her seat. Sanders would then be the eighth Democrat in the race.
Considering that Bernie Sanders performed very well in New Hampshire during the 2016 Presidential Election, voters in New Hampshire may support Sanders. However, according to ABC News, there could be some potential challenges for Sanders if he were to run for the Congressional seat.
Sanders, according to ABC News, does not actually reside in the first Congressional district, and so he would have to have a good reason for potential voters as to why he is running for that seat. Several of Bernie Sanders’ political consultants are currently working on the campaign of another Democrat in the race, and when ABC News had previously asked one of those aides what they thought about Sanders running, the aide responded with a thumbs-down emoji.
Sanders would also be going up against two high-profile Democrats in this race: Chris Pappas and Maura Sullivan. Dean Spiliotes, a political blogger for NHPoliticalCapital.com and a scholar at Southern New Hampshire University, told ABC News that Pappas is popular in New Hampshire and “is plugged into the party apparatus in the state.”