Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, is the longest-serving independent in the history of Congress.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Sanders, right, leads a sit-in organized by the Congress of Racial Equality in 1962. The demonstration was staged to oppose housing segregation at the University of Chicago. It was Chicago's first civil rights sit-in.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Sanders takes the oath of office to become the mayor of Burlington, Vermont, in 1981. He ran as an independent and won the race by 10 votes.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Sanders, right, tosses a baseball before a minor-league game in Vermont in 1984. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, center, was also on hand.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Sanders reads mail at his campaign office in Burlington in 1990. He was running for the U.S. House of Representatives after an unsuccessful bid in 1988.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
In 1990, Sanders defeated U.S. Rep. Peter Smith in the race for Vermont's lone House seat. He won by 16 percentage points.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Sanders sits next to President Bill Clinton in 1993 before the Congressional Progressive Caucus held a meeting at the White House. Sanders co-founded the caucus in 1991 and served as its first chairman.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Barack Obama, then a U.S. senator, endorses Sanders' Senate bid at a rally in Burlington in 2006.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Sanders takes part in a swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in January 2007. He won his Senate seat with 65% of the vote.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Sanders chats with Dr. John Matthew, director of The Health Center in Plainfield, Vermont, in May 2007. Sanders was in Plainfield to celebrate a new source of federal funding for The Health Center.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Sanders speaks to reporters in 2010 about the Obama administration's push to extend Bush-era tax cuts. Three days later, Sanders held a filibuster against the reinstatement of the tax cuts. His speech, which lasted more than eight hours, was published in book form in 2011. It is called "The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class."
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Sanders and U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, walk to a news conference on Capitol Hill in 2014. Sanders was chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
In March 2015, Sanders speaks in front of letters and petitions asking Congress to reject proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Sanders embraces Remaz Abdelgader, a Muslim student, during an October 2015 event at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Asked what he would do about Islamophobia in the United States, Sanders said he was determined to fight racism and "build a nation in which we all stand together as one people."
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Sanders waves while walking in a Veterans Day parade in Lebanon, New Hampshire, in November 2015.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Sanders speaks at a campaign event in New York's Washington Square Park on April 13.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Sanders speaks at a rally in Santa Monica, California, on June 7. He pledged to stay in the Democratic race even though Hillary Clinton secured the delegates she needed to become the presumptive nominee.
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight
Bernie Sanders in the spotlight