--- title: Bernie Sanders Wins TIME Person of the Year Poll description: Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has won the online readers' poll for TIME Person of the Year canonical: https://time.com/4137173/bernie-sanders-time-person-of-the-year-poll-win/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-07T11:00:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:34.287Z article:section: Politics og:title: Bernie Sanders Wins Readers' Poll for TIME Person of the Year og:description: Ahead of rivals and world leaders og:url: https://time.com/4137173/bernie-sanders-time-person-of-the-year-poll-win/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb731401d6ca72943/698873f30b72e38d566e7205/rtx1v7pt.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders waves as he walks onto the stage during the 20/20 Club Presidential Justice Forum at Allen University in Columbia og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bernie Sanders Wins Readers' Poll for TIME Person of the Year twitter:description: Ahead of rivals and world leaders twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb731401d6ca72943/698873f30b72e38d566e7205/rtx1v7pt.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bernie Sanders Wins Readers' Poll for TIME Person of the Year > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Watch the Democratic Debate in Less Than Four Minutes [Watch (HLS stream): Watch the Democratic Debate in Less Than Four Minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MP9tBH0u.m3u8) (4:00)  _Published 2015-10-14. In case you missed it_ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Dec 7, 2015 11:00 AM UTC  U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders waves as he walks onto the stage during the 20/20 Club Presidential Justice Forum at Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina Nov.21, 2015. U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders waves as he walks onto the stage during the 20/20 Club Presidential Justice Forum at Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina Nov.21, 2015.CHRIS KEANE—Reuters by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Dec 7, 2015 11:00 AM UTC Democratic presidential candidate [Bernie Sanders](http://time.com/4038080/the-gospel-of-bernie/) has [won the online readers’ poll for TIME Person of the Year](http://time.com/4110428/person-of-the-year-readers-poll-results-2015/), topping some of the world’s best-known politicians, activists and cultural figures as the most influential person of 2015 among those who voted. The Vermont Senator won with a little more than 10% of the vote when the poll closed Sunday at midnight. That’s well ahead of Pakistani girls’ education activist [Malala Yousafzai](http://time.com/3822637/malala-yousafzai-2015-time-100/), who was in second place at 5.2%, and Pope Francis, [TIME’s 2013 Person of the Year](http://poy.time.com/2013/12/11/person-of-the-year-pope-francis-the-peoples-pope/), who finished third with 3.7%. Sanders also placed far ahead President Obama (3.5%) and ahead other 2016 candidates, including Republican Donald Trump (1.8%) and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton (1.4%). [**See the full results of the poll here**](http://time.com/4110428/person-of-the-year-readers-poll-results-2015/) Sanders has helped define the presidential race, calling for big-ticket progressive items from single-payer healthcare to tuition-free public universities. He has mobilized the Democratic Party’s liberal base and inspired massive campaign rallies across the country. But he remains a distant second for the Democratic nomination in 2016, lagging more than 20% behind Clinton in national polls and overwhelmingly behind in support among Democratic members of Congress and party leaders. **MORE** [The Gospel of Bernie](http://time.com/4038080/the-gospel-of-bernie/) Sanders has said his goal is a political revolution that will reenergize the electorate and push big money out of politics. “A lot of people have given up on the political process, and I want to get them involved in it,” [Sanders told TIME in a September cover story](http://time.com/4038080/the-gospel-of-bernie/). “In this fight we are going to take on the greed of the billionaire class. And they are very, very powerful, and they’re going to fight back furiously. The only way to succeed is when millions of people stand up and decide to engage.” ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Brian Snyder—Reuters No presidential candidate has been named Person of the Year prior to the end of the campaign, though a slew of presidential victors from Franklin Delano Roosevelt in (1932, 1934, and 1941), Ronald Reagan (1980, 1984) and Barack Obama (2008, 2012) have earned the distinction. TIME’s editors will choose the Person of the Year, the person TIME believes most influenced the news this year, for better or worse. 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