Sanders brushes off talk of 2020 bid: My focus is on midterms

.@BernieSanders on the possibility of running for president in 2020: Our focus is on 2018 and doing everything we can to see that the Dems gain control. pic.twitter.com/6EMVG9pb7p
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 28, 2018
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Sunday downplayed talk of a possible White House bid in 2020, saying he’s focused on helping Democrats in the 2018 midterms.
“Really right now what our focus is on is 2018. … Doing everything that we can to see that the Democrats regain control of Senate and House and some governors’ chairs as well,” Sanders said on CBS’s “Face The Nation.”
Politico reported last week that Sanders, 76, met with several of his top political advisers recently to discuss a 2020 campaign for president. Sanders’s wife, Jane Sanders, his former campaign manager, a pollster and fundraiser were reportedly among those in attendance.
{mosads}Sanders lost the 2016 Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton, but won several states during the primary campaign. A recent poll showed Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden and media mogul Oprah Winfrey all beating President Trump in a theoretical 2020 match-up.
Sanders on Sunday downplayed reports he’s gearing up for another presidential campaign, saying he typically speaks with his political advisers every other week.
“I’m afraid to say it was not a big deal,” Sanders said of the Politico report.
CBS host Nancy Cordes noted that Sanders’s son, Levi Sanders, tweeted following the Politico report that the senator is “contemplating a run.”
Bernard is seriously contemplating a run in 2020 and I don’t mean a jog.
— Levi Sanders (@Celentra) January 25, 2018
I forgot to mention that he is taking his vitamins and going on long walks.
— Levi Sanders (@Celentra) January 25, 2018
“I love my son very much but he is not aware of all the things we’re doing,” Sanders said.
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