What’s next for Bernie Sanders?

Bernie+Sanders+attends+the+2019+Iowa+Democrats+Hall+of+Fame+Celebration+on+June+9.

Courtesy of flickr.com

Bernie Sanders attends the 2019 Iowa Democrats Hall of Fame Celebration on June 9.

Senator Bernie Sanders suffered a heart attack on Oct. 1, which could most likely affect his place on the national polls.

Sander’s heart attack may direct most of his voters to Elizabeth Warren, a fellow candidate whose plans for presidency are similar to Bernie’s. Some may even call her the female version of him. They’ve remained united in debates, frequently backing each other up each time another candidate disagrees and attacks their “far left” ideas. Many voters have been unsure of who they want to win due to it being difficult to distinguish them. 

Some, like Bryce Smith, the Democratic Party chairman in Dallas County, Iowa, might agree that Warren will now take a majority of his votes. “If anyone was teetering between Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, this probably showed them that Elizabeth Warren has the stamina and the health and is a little bit younger in age to see it through eight years,” he said, according to the New York Times article.

People were already wary of his age and weren’t sure he’d be in good health to run for the presidency. Bernie Sanders’ heart attack doesn’t help his case since it invites skepticism towards his competence. 

This raises many questions for most voters: Is he even fit enough to be elected president? Why should we vote for someone in their late 70s? 

Many Democratic voters have already expressed their discomfort with his age, making them question if he’s worth being nominated knowing the chance of him suffering from a heart attack is more than likely to happen again. The American public wants someone healthy and young, not someone who’s likely to have another heart attack in the next few years. Sanders is on my top 5 list of best candidates, but I know the chances of him winning have now diminised and I don’t see them rising back up in the near future. 

Sanders has given very few details until this week about his condition, inviting questions and speculation towards his place in the election. However, it’s been confirmed that Sanders will be expected at the Democratic Debate on Oct. 15. Now that the spotlight is on him, it won’t be surprising to see him being asked to prove how he can maintain his votes due to his health.