Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will be the front-runner in the next Democratic presidential primary. How can we know for certain these 23 months away from Election Day? Well, that’s what his campaign says, of course!

“This time, he starts off as a front-runner, or one of the front-runners,” Sanders’ 2016 campaign manager Jeff Weaver told the Associated Press citing fundraising prowess, campaign infrastructure, and a grass roots army. The operative adds, “It’ll be a much bigger campaign if he runs again.”