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Sen. Bernie Sanders. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Vermont resident Jon Svitavsky announcedon July 5 that he is challenging Sen.Bernie Sandersin his upcoming re-election in 2018. In his most recent race for re-election, Sanders wonover 71 percentof the vote and theDemocratic Partydidnt bother to run a candidate. In the 2016 presidential primaries,Sanders receivedover 86 percent of the votein Vermont. Among the small percentage of people who voted for Hillary Clinton in the state was Svitavsky, a homeless shelter director who is beginning to receive support from other disgruntledClintonsupporters across the country.

Though Sanders enjoys overwhelming support in his home state, his political opponents around the country have isolated and built up naysayers to diminish his popularity. In June 2016, NBC host Joy Reid did aprofilein the Daily Beast on Al Giordano,an anti-Sanders troll who gained a sizable following ofClintonsupporters on Twitter during the primaries. Giordano claimed he would run against Sanders in 2018 but has yet to file and currently resides in Mexico City. In February 2016, the Daily Beast ran ahit piecemeant to perpetuate the whitewashing of Sanders presidential campaign. It featured an interview with a black Vermont resident who claimed Sanders ignored the black community in the state. In October 2016, Politico ran anarticle featuring quotes from several VermontDemocratscomplaining that Sanders wasnt helping Democratsin Vermont, despite the fact thatSandersmade several appearances around the country to campaign on behalf of HillaryClinton. Now Svitavsky, aDemocratfrom Bridport, Vermont, is trying to make another case against Sanders.

Vermont Public Radioreported, Jon Svitavsky, 59, says he believes that Sanders divisive politics have fractured the Democratic Party nationally and paved the way for the rise of Republican President Donald Trump. On his Twitteraccounthe hassharedblog posts written by otherClintonsupporters attacking Sanders. According to Svitavsky, he was recruited by a group called Organizing forDemocrats-U.S.A to run against Sanders. The organization isnt filed with the FEC and has a small following on Facebook. On its Facebook page on June 15, the day after Sanders voted against the bill that included sanctions on Russia and Iran, the group posted, Today OFD represents theDemocratic Partycandidate for U.S. Senate in the State of Vermont.Thats the Sanders'(I) seat.And an actual liberal Democrat fromBurlington, Vermont is running.After Sanders voted to protect Mother Russia today, the decision was made to make this declaration. The day before, the organization published in another post that it is time forDemocratsto unite against the Bernie Bot elements.

Svitavsky told Vermonts NPR affiliate, I think Sanders has hurt our country very badly with what hes done. He added, So not only didBerniedivide theDemocratic Partyand what not, but he continues to bash them, even on the unity tour, saying thatDemocratsand Republicans are the same, and theyre not. ThoughBernie Sandersnever said that or bashed the party on theDNC Unity Tour, Svitavskys biases are shared by several avidClintonsupporters, and he isnt alone in trying to challenge Sanders.

Folasade Adeluola, a Clintonsupporter based in Indiana, also announced she is running to unseatSandersin 2018. Her campaignwebsitefeatures a selfie with her and HillaryClinton.She only has to be a legal resident of Vermont the day before the election to be eligible for the Senate seat, capitalizing on the opportunity to represent people of a state she doesnt live in.

Read more here:
Bitter Clinton Supporters Try to Unseat Bernie Sanders in Senate Race - Observer