Our Revolution

OUR REVOLUTION. Founded 24 August 2016 as a non-profit organization, Our Revolution (OR) was an outgrowth of the presidential campaign of the independent socialist Bernie Sanders. In his campaign memoir under the same title, Sanders described the way his campaign moved from its original fringe status when it began in April 2015 to its respectable close the following July. Disappointed by his defeat to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Sanders nevertheless took immense solace in his successes: a primary that gave him more than thirteen million votes and 46 percent of the delegates to the national convention. At this meeting, Sanders announced the formation of OR and his plans for going forward. He intended to rally his numerous supporters to mobilize and to promote progressive candidates and legislation and, if possible, reform the Democratic Party.

Equally important, Sanders underscored, was his 2016 campaign’s unprecedented appeal to young people, including Black, Asian America, Native American, and Latino populations. In the preface to his book, Sanders referenced an article in the Washington Post that alleged that his campaign did not push the Democratic Party to the left, but instead moved a new generation into the ranks of progressives. Our Revolution continued to build on this foundation and transformed many young supporters into organizers.

At its peak, OR claimed more than a quarter-million members, with several state-wide organizations and local groups in all fifty states. The national leadership was in the hands, at different times, of Jeff Weaver, Shannon Jackson, and Nina Turner. Meanwhile, the grassroots organizers focused on supporting candidates for local and national office, most notably in 2018 backing the successful campaigns of “The Squad,” Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. After Sanders formed his 2020 presidential campaign, an overwhelming majority of OR staffers left to join his campaign. Although the remaining staff turned to labor issues, continued to support local candidates, and to rally behind Medicare for All, OR did not bounce back to its former size and influence after the Democratic primary ended in Sanders’s defeat in July 2020. State and local groups often pooled efforts with other progressive organizations to endorse candidates. Following the November 2020 election, OR claimed that 74 percent of their 450 endorsed candidates won.

After President Joe Biden’s inauguration, OR endorsed an agenda to hold the president and congress accountable for their campaign promises, elect progressive down-ballot candidates, promote progressive legislation such as the Green New Deal and criminal justice reform, and immigrant justice and ultimately to build a new progressive party. In 2021, OR singled out several major demands: cancel student debt; end fossil fuel subsidies; eliminate the Senate filibuster; and Medicare for All.

Sanders, Bernie. Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In. New York: Thomas Dunne Books,2016.