Time readers crown Sanders Person of Year

Readers of Time magazine have chosen Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders as Person of the Year, according to a poll by the magazine.

Sanders, a Vermont senator who is Jewish, self-identifies as a Democratic socialist and is challenging former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Sanders’s polling numbers have exceeded expectations, but he still trails Clinton by a wide margin.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at Georgetown University in Washington on November 19, 2015. (AP /Carolyn Kaster)

Sanders easily outpaced his rivals in the Time survey, receiving more than 10 percent of the vote, with the runner-up, Pakistani girls’ education activist Malala Yousafzai, at 5.2%. President Barack Obama, Pope Francis and talk-show host Stephen Colbert rounded out the top five vote-getters. Francis won the honor in 2013.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas garnered 1% of votes each, barely edging out Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at 0.9%.

All three leaders failed, though. to reach the 1.4% of votes claimed by Triple Crown-winning American Pharaoh, who is a horse.

Time will reveal its Person of the Year on Wednesday.

— with JTA