A Vermont newspaper on Monday begged Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., not to run for president in 2020.
“Bernie Sanders should not run for president. In fact, we beg him not to,” said the editorial published by the Barre Montpelier Times Argus.
“That is an unfavorable opinion, especially among most Vermonters and progressives who support the platform that has come to define him,” the paper added. “But at this point, there are more things about another Sanders run at the White House that concern us than excite us.”
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The paper said another Sanders run would divide the Democratic Party, as his run did against Hillary Clinton.
“We fear a Sanders run risks dividing the well-fractured Democratic Party, and could lead to another split in the 2020 presidential vote,” it said. “There is too much at stake to take that gamble. If we are going to maintain a two-party system, the mandate needs to be a clear one.”
The paper also accused Sanders of ignoring the needs of Vermont citizens.
“While he makes regular visits ‘home,’ you are more likely to catch Sanders on Colbert, CNN or MSNBC than you are to see him talking to reporters here in Vermont,” the editorial staff wrote. “Evidently, microphones here don’t extend far enough.”
The Democratic primary race is expected to be crowded. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., launched an exploratory committee last Monday and is the first major-name Democrat to enter into the 2020 bid for president.
