While many considered Hillary Clinton’s road to the gaining the Democratic nomination an easy glide, no one expected an attack from the left. Hillary Clinton is used to fierce competition but it doesn’t normally come from people within her own party. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, technically an independent for most of his career, is a self-identified democratic socialist. While the Democratic Party is just now finally catching up his with many of his views, he’s held the same platform since 1972.

In 1972, Sanders released a letter in a local newspaper outlining his platform. Sanders’ platform included anti-war stances, free healthcare, progressive tax codes, and socially progressive stances (pro-gay rights and pro-choice rights). Many of these weren’t even added to the Democratic Party’s national platform until the early 2010s (and some still aren’t listed).

On the other hand, Clinton has “evolved” on many of these issues, standing on a position of a more centrist Democrat. Clinton evolved on issues such as same-sex marriage, prison sentencing for non-violent offenders, and regulation of Big Banks and Wall Street. Because of Clinton’s evolution many Democrats feel that she can’t be trusted as much as Bernie Sanders. Combined with Sanders’ grassroots progressive campaign, Sanders has gained a lot of momentum, and even overtook Clinton in a recent poll in New Hampshire.

Now that Democrats are looking for a new candidate to promise progress, many are looking at Sanders in the way they looked at Barack Obama in 2007. Much like Obama, Sanders is the candidate that many people feel will move us into a more social democracy (like Scandinavian countries). While many people are still very much big Clinton fans, it wouldn’t be wise for them to count Bernie Sanders out for 2016.