We need an energy revolution by breaking our dependence on fossil fuels, polluting fuels... I am very, very confident our small state will lead this. We will be noticed by the country and the world.

Before serving in the Senate he represented Vermont's at-large district in the United States House of Representatives and served as Mayor of Burlington the largest city in Vermont. Congressional history. Sanders caucuses with the Democratic Party and is counted as a Democrat for the purposes of committee assignments but because he does not belong to a formal political party he appears as an independent on the ballot.