Bernard Sanders
- Independent · Holds US Senate, Vermont
- Served
- US House VT-AL, 1991 to 2007
- Years in Congress
- 35
- Age
- 85
- Races
- Won 12 of 13
Spectrum
Centrist is the middle of the scale, not of Congress. How this works
By donors (CFscore, 2024 cycle)
Research estimate from Stanford DIME 4.0. Source
Method and limits
Published score −1.141 on a scale from −2.0 to 2.0, where 0 is the center. 82,463 donors. License: ODC-BY 1.0.
Places a candidate by who gave them money; candidates who share donors sit close together.
Reflects the donor network, not votes or views, and comes from past cycles, not a 2026 reading.
Now
Career
| Year | Race | Result | Share | Lost to, or other round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | US Senate, VT | Won | 63.2% | |
| 2018 | US Senate, VT | Won · primary won 100% | 67.3% | |
| 2012 | US Senate, VT | Won · primary won 98.7% | 71% | |
| 2006 | US Senate, VT | Won · primary won | 65.4% | |
| 2004 | US House, VT-AL | Won | 67.5% | |
| 2002 | US House, VT-AL | Won | 64.3% | |
| 2000 | US House, VT-AL | Won | 69.2% | |
| 1998 | US House, VT-AL | Won | 63.4% |
Earlier races (5 more races)
| Year | Race | Result | Share | Lost to, or other round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | US House, VT-AL | Won | 55.2% | |
| 1994 | US House, VT-AL | Won | 49.9% | |
| 1992 | US House, VT-AL | Won | 57.9% | |
| 1990 | US House, VT-AL | Won | 56% | |
| 1988 | US House, VT-AL | Lost | 37.5% | Peter Smith 41.2% |
Races in our results files. Other offices, earlier years and most primaries can be missing. A general that went to a runoff counts as neither a win nor a loss.
Senate votes
119th Congress, through Sept 30, 2026915 roll calls. Yea 241, Nay 610, Not voting 64.
- Roll calls missed
- 7%
- Voted with own party when parties split
- Not available
How these are counted
Missed is Not Voting divided by every roll call the member was listed on, including quorum calls and procedural votes. It covers any absence, including illness and leave.
Votes with own party is not available for independents. It compares the Democratic and Republican majorities.
Senate votes come from Voteview. Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/
Showing the newest 8 of 915
Sep 30, 2026 · Senate roll call 256
On the Nomination · PN1129
Keith Sonderling, of Florida, to be Secretary of Labor
Vote: NayNomination Confirmed, 47 to 41
Sep 30, 2026 · Senate roll call 255
On the Cloture Motion · PN1129
Keith Sonderling, of Florida, to be Secretary of Labor
Vote: NayCloture Motion Agreed to, 53 to 47
Sep 30, 2026 · Senate roll call 254
On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed · HR9340
A bill to amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish a Federal standard relating to the recovery of the full, incremental costs of upgrades that serve large-load customers, and for other purposes.
Vote: NayCloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected, 57 to 43
Sep 30, 2026 · Senate roll call 253
On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed · HR7008
A bill to amend chapter 131 of title 5 to require certain restrictions on stocks for Members of Congress and their spouses and dependents, and for other purposes.
Vote: NayCloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected, 53 to 47
Sep 29, 2026 · Senate roll call 252
On the Motion to Discharge · SRES852
A resolution requesting information on Israel's human rights practices pursuant to section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
Vote: YeaMotion to Discharge Rejected, 47 to 51
Sep 29, 2026 · Senate roll call 251
On the Motion to Proceed · SJRES197
A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of the Department of Health and Human Services relating to "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2027; and Basic Health Program".
Vote: YeaMotion to Proceed Rejected, 48 to 51
Sep 28, 2026 · Senate roll call 250
On Passage of the Bill · S4668
A bill to protect the name, image, and likeness rights of, and provide protections for, student athletes and to promote fair competition among intercollegiate athletics, and for other purposes.
Vote: NayBill Passed, 77 to 22
Sep 28, 2026 · Senate roll call 249
On the Amendment · S4668
To establish certain standards with respect to coaches of varsity sports teams.
Vote: YeaAmendment Rejected, 47 to 52
Legislation
119th Congress, congress.gov, as of Oct 30, 2026Sponsored 36 bills and 20 resolutions. Cosponsored 365 bills and 112 resolutions. Amendments are not counted.
Latest bills Bernard Sanders sponsored
- Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act of 2026S. 5493, introduced Sep 23, 2026
- Stop Social Security Garnishment Act of 2026S. 5456, introduced Sep 22, 2026
- Thirty-Two Hour Workweek ActS. 5384, introduced Sep 14, 2026
- Green New Deal for Public Housing ActS. 5284, introduced Aug 6, 2026
- Guaranteed Paid Vacation ActS. 5280, introduced Aug 6, 2026
More about Bernard Sanders
Offices held (12 terms and offices)
- 2007 to nowUS SenateIndependent
- 1991 to 2006US House, Vermont at-largeIndependent
Committees (14 assignments)
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
- Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight subcommittee
- Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Innovation and Safety subcommittee
- Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife subcommittee
Senate Committee on Finance
- Health Care subcommittee
- Ranking Member of the Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy subcommittee
- Taxation and IRS Oversight subcommittee
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Ranking Member
- Ex Officio of the Education and the American Family subcommittee
- Ex Officio of the Employment and Workplace Safety subcommittee
- Ex Officio of the Primary Health and Retirement Security subcommittee
Senate Committee on the Budget
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Official pages (7 links)
Sources (10 sources)
unitedstates/congress-legislators (current)
Office, terms, committees, official links, age. Retrieved Oct 28, 2026. License: CC0-1.0.
Compiled by the @unitedstates project volunteers (rosters from official congressional sources) from official returns. Not an official source.
Stanford DIME public v4.0, recipients file (CFscores)
CFscores for candidates and officials; web/data/ideology/dime.json and aggregate.json. A research estimate by Adam Bonica, not an official measure. Retrieved Oct 29, 2026. License: ODC-BY 1.0.
Compiled by Adam Bonica, Stanford University Libraries (built from campaign finance filings) from official returns. Not an official source.
Bonica, Adam. 2024. Database on Ideology, Money in Politics, and Elections: Public version 4.0 [Computer file]. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Libraries. https://data.stanford.edu/dime .
Voteview: Senate roll calls and votes, 119th Congress
Senate roll calls and votes with own party. Retrieved Oct 30, 2026. License: None stated. Cited as Voteview's data page asks.
Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/
Congress.gov API: sponsored and cosponsored legislation, nominations
Bills and resolutions. Retrieved Oct 30, 2026. License: US government work.
unitedstates/congress-legislators
Race record. Retrieved Oct 29, 2026. License: CC0 1.0.
FEC candidate master file (cnYY.zip bulk download)
Race record. Retrieved Oct 29, 2026. License: US government work, public domain.
Stanford DIME v4.0 recipients file
Race record. Retrieved Oct 29, 2026. License: ODC-BY 1.0.
MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House 1976-2024
Race record. Retrieved Oct 29, 2026. License: CC0 1.0.
MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. Senate statewide 1976-2024
Race record. Retrieved Oct 29, 2026. License: CC0 1.0.
Election Wrld officials files (web/data/officials)
Race record. Retrieved Oct 29, 2026. License: see sources.json.
- Age: unitedstates/congress-legislators (CC0), official birthday field, counted to Nov 3, 2026. We show the age, never the birth date.
- Took office in Congress 1991-01-03. Basis: congress-legislators terms (CC0).
Officials files, 2026 candidate files, returns files, DIME, FEC candidate master and congress-legislators terms, as of 2026-10-29. Nothing about jobs, retirement, or reasons is recorded or inferred.
DataDownload votes (JSON)Sources: Voteview, congress.gov, DIME (ODC-BY), Results filesData as of Oct 29, 2026Photo credits