In early May, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who associates with the Democrats, announced he would seek reelection to a fourth term. Sanders is 82 and suffered a heart attack while campaigning for president in 2019. I have doubts Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s legacy will be greater if she did not retire sooner. I was asked The President Shows New Leadership Joe BidenThe 81-year-old senator has announced that she will seek reelection in 2024, and this time she has drawn similar indignation by suggesting that 69-year-old Sonia Sotomayor, the first and only Latina woman on the Supreme Court, should retire early. But so far, there has been little concern about the popular liberal senator, who is just one year away from turning 90 when her term expires.
Even the best and most effective politicians must never succumb to the notion that they are irreplaceable. I’ve recently heard some right-wing politicians claim that their candidacy was requested by those in power. This kind of self-interest does not serve democracy, nor is it inherently in the interests of voters. At worst, it can have negative short- and long-term consequences.
Perhaps it makes more sense for Sanders to retire now than other candidates who have been targeted in the past because of their age. Replacing Biden would have meant Democrats giving up incumbency advantage in a close and crucial 2024 race. Wild-card candidates like Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema could complicate the search for a replacement for Sotomayor.
By contrast, there seems to be little strategic or operational risk in replacing Sanders — he is running in a state that Democrats won 2-1 in 2020 and remains Democratic — and the issue of replacing committee members would be less problematic than if a lawmaker resigned mid-term.
Sanders is clearly an iconic figure whose policies resonate with young progressives, a key part of the Democratic Party’s winning coalition. But his constant candidacy arguably contradicts his progressive message. Sanders has long spoken about young people being the future leaders of our country, a reality that will continue to be delayed unless octogenarians are willing to give way.
Nationally, Democrats (and aligned independents) need a strong grassroots movement and youth pipeline. Is Sanders helping that effort in Vermont? His reelection challenge raises the question of whether there really aren’t other progressives in the state ready to take his place.
These are the same kinds of questions posed to Biden, but electing a president is a different political project than replacing a senator. As the Vermont senator said in his announcement video, the 2024 election is “the most important election of our lifetimes.” Biden has already beaten Donald Trump once, won more than 81 million votes, and has a long list of first-term accomplishments to tout in his reelection campaign. Democratic leaders have calculated that Biden remains the leading candidate against Trump, despite concerns about his age. And the alternative would be worse.
Sanders is in a different situation, with different strategic variables.
Sanders, a longtime senator, has a sometimes prickly relationship with the Democratic establishment. While some in the Democratic establishment blame Sanders for creating too much conflict during the 2016 primaries, the left-wing icon has supported the Biden-Harris administration in many ways. Just last month, Biden and Sanders held a joint event to celebrate the administration’s success in lowering the prices of some prescription drugs. Sanders was one of the first to endorse Biden for reelection a year ago. “What this country needs is not Donald Trump or other right-wing demagogues who are trying to undermine American democracy, who are trying to take away women’s right to choose, who are not addressing the crises of gun violence, racism, sexism and homophobia,” Sanders said at the time.
Encouraging all older candidates or public officials to retire is tantamount to ageism. To be sure, there are many scenarios in which it is reasonable, even necessary, for stable, experienced leaders to remain in power. But I think Sanders had an opportunity here to set an important example and gracefully guide the next generation of leaders forward. You can still champion leftist priorities in retirement. But Sanders now runs the risk of ending his career on a low note.
This article originally appeared on MSNBC.com.
