Bernie Sanders’ son announces run for Congress

Levi Sanders, the son of Sen. Bernie Sanders, has announced that he will run for Congress in New Hampshire.

He made the announcement Monday evening, a day after the senator’s stepdaughter Carina Driscoll announced her bid for mayor of Burlington, Vermont, a post once held by Bernie Sanders himself.

Levi Sanders, 48, becomes the eighth in a crowded field of Democrats to announce for the empty seat in the 1st District. The seat’s current inhabitant, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, a Democrat, is not seeking reelection. Sanders currently lives in a neighborhood in the 2nd District.

The seat is one of the Republican Party’s top targets in 2018 as the district regularly swings from blue to red, Vice news reported. US President Donald Trump received more votes than Hillary Clinton in the district in 2016.

Sanders will file his official statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission within the next 10 days, WMUR in Manchester reported.

He said in his official campaign statement that he decided to run “after much thought and consultation with my family, friends and the people of New Hampshire.” He also said that his campaign is “about each and every one of us, who strive each and every day, to make this great state and country a better place in which to live.”

His platform includes Medicare for all, free college tuition, a higher minimum wage, addressing the opiod crisis and “sensible” gun legislation.

Sanders has been around for every race his father has ever run and served as a senior policy strategist for the 2016 presidential campaign, according to Vice. He also works as an advocate for people trying to obtain Social Security benefits. Eight years ago, Sanders lost in a bid for City Council in Claremont, New Hampshire.