Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is laying the groundwork for a bigger presidential campaign in 2020 than his first one, according to advisers.
Those closest to the 77-year-old self-described Democratic Socialist suggest that his nomination loss to Hillary Clinton would not 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,” said Sanders’ 2016 campaign manager Jeff Weaver. “It’ll be a much bigger campaign if he runs again, in terms of the size of the operation,” he added.