The US 2020 democratic presidential primary elections began in February with 29 major candidates. Now, on the 8th of April, after counting wins and losses for each of the candidates, Joe Biden has been nominated the presumptive democratic candidate that will be facing off President Trump in November. The presidential primaries are a series of electoral contests organized by the Democratic party to select the delegates fpr the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Those delegates will, by pledged votes, elect the Democratic nominee for president of the United States in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Last Wednesday, and in the midst of a pandemic, Bernie Sanders stated that it has been hard to run a proper election campaign, especially since he relied massively on his rallies to draw up support and subsequently annouced his suspension.

So, what caused Bernie Sanders to step down? A public concern that Sanders didn’t seem to want to recognize was the fact that, at 78, he had suffered from a heart attack and his health was not in pristine conditions. However, the main reason that Bernie decided to suspend his presidential campaign was that his outcomes in various caucuses were not encouraging and that it didn’t make sense to keep fighting a battle that he was almost certain he would not win. He stated in his live tweet from home that "If I believed we had a feasible path to the nomination; I would certainly continue". He had noticed that, lately, support had faltered and mentioned that the current pandemic deserved more immediate attention than focus on his campaign. Time Magazine included a statement by Sanders explain that: “as I see the crisis gripping the nation, exacerbated by a president unwilling or unable to provide any kind of credible leadership and the work that needs to be done to protect people in this most desperate hour, I cannot in good conscience continue to mount a campaign that cannot win and which would interfere with the important work required of all of us in this difficult hour.”

Bernie Sanders was very popular amongst young voters, labelling himself as a democratic socialist and campaigning for policies that included affordable healthcare for all, free public college, raising taxes on the wealthy and increasing minimum wage. He believed that it was time to focus on the environment and to reduce inequality. Although Joe Biden is not seen as radical as Bernie, he acknowledges the impact Bernie has had on all his supporters, stating that "to your supporters I make the same commitment: I see you, I hear you, and I understand the urgency of what it is we have to get done in this country. I hope you will join us. You are more than welcome. You're needed."

This being Bernie’s second loss (losing to Hilary Clinton in 2016) and given his age, Sanders is not expected to run again. However, he has left a mark and will be remembered by many American people as they continue to fight for the same ideologies that Sanders believed in. Finally, as Bernie Sanders said, “The future of this country is with our ideas." And what will matter now is how the democratic public figures will come together and think of new ideas on how to defeat President Trump in November.