[L]evi Sanders, 48, the son of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, may run for one of the two House seats in neighboring New Hampshire, according to a report in Vice News on Thursday.
“Oh absolutely, I’m definitely considering it. I’m excited, motivated, and interested in the race,” Sanders told Vice. “I’m just dotting my is and crossing my ts.”
If he were to run, it would be to represent New Hampshire’s first congressional district, a seat soon to be vacated by Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, who is retiring.
Levi Sanders is not a resident of the first district, which is in the southeastern corner of the state. He lives in Claremont, on the state’s western border with Vermont. He is reported to work as an advocate for people seeking Social Security benefits.
Sanders, 48, is the Vermont Independent senator’s only biological child, born of a relationship in the 1960s between Sanders and Susan Campbell Mott, who is listed on Levi’s birth certificate as both Susan Campbell Mott and Susan Sanders. The two had moved to Stannard, a small town in the Northeast Kingdom in 1968. Levi was born in 1969. Mott and Sanders split up in 1971.
Sanders was described as a devoted father to his only son, and Levi in turn became a fixture in his father’s political career, from the early days of the Liberty Union Party when he was a tow-headed 2-two-year-old, to the 2016 presidential run.
This would not be the first foray by Levi Sanders into electoral politics. According to a profile in the New York Times in 2016, when he was 40 he ran for a seat on the Claremont City Council, finishing seventh in a field of nine.
Bernie Sanders’ stepdaughter, Carina Driscoll, is currently challenging incumbent Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger for the top job in Vermont’s largest city. The election will be held on Town Meeting day.
A spokesperson for Bernie Sanders did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.
