New Hampshire's newest congressional hopeful knows he’ll constantly be linked with his presidential candidate dad (he even sounds like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at times).
But Levi Sanders says he hopes people pay more attention to issues like income inequality, gun safety, and opioid addiction than they do his famous name.
“In this day and age, people don’t matter. And I want to radically change that,” Sanders told NHPR Tuesday. “People who work 40 hours a week don’t have to live in poverty.”
Though when pressed to name differences between father and son, Sanders had to get creative.
“I have a size 14 sneaker, he has a 11.5. I'm 6'2” and a half. He's 6 feet,” he quipped.
Sanders, a legal services analyst in Massachusetts, is jumping into an already crowded race for the 1st Congressional District. He made his announcement late Monday night, joining seven other Democrats in a race for a seat in what’s often called the “swingiest” swing district in the country.
As a Claremont resident, Sanders lives outside the boundaries of the 1st District, but the U.S. Constitution requires only that U.S. House members live in the state they serve, not the same district. Sanders said his residency outside the district won’t keep him from adequately representing voters, as voters across the state are united on the same issues, like raising the minimum wage
“It really doesn’t matter where you are in that area, there are a lot of low income and working class people ultimately that cannot survive on [$7.25].”
Sanders is advocating for a $15 dollar minimum wage and—like his father—tuition-free college.
In other Sanders family news, Levi’s step-sister, Carina Driscoll, is running for mayor of Burlington, Vermont, where dad Bernie Sanders once served.
