--- description: Bernie Sanders explained at the fifth Democratic debate Thursday why he did not use public funding for his campaign. title: Here's Why Bernie Sanders Didn't Use Public Funding for His Campaign image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3e6749831158b3b/69887c3ccf40a82118c41d23/timepol-democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-09.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Bernie Sanders](/tag/bernie-sanders/) ## Bernie Sanders Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's Why Bernie Sanders Didn't Use Public Funding for His Campaign  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 5, 2016 3:00 AM CUT  Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during a Democratic debate with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the University of New Hampshire on Feb. 4, 2016 in Durham, N.H. Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during a Democratic debate with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the University of New Hampshire on Feb. 4, 2016 in Durham, N.H.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 5, 2016 3:00 AM CUT [Bernie Sanders](http://time.com/4201376/bernie-sanders-history/ "undefined") explained at the [fifth Democratic debate Thursday ](http://time.com/4208461/democratic-debate-progressive-liberal-moderate/ "undefined")why he did not use public funding for [his campaign](http://time.com/4198860/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-campaign-ad-wall-street/ "undefined"). MSNBC moderator Chuck Todd pressed the Vermont Senator on why, if he’s so in favor of public programs and against Super PACs, he didn’t opt to apply for public funding for his campaign. “Why aren’t you walking the walk on that?” Todd asked, saying the public funding legislation was designed, essentially, to take big money out of elections in the way Sanders says he wants. “Actually, we looked at it,” Sanders said. “But it turns out to be a disaster. The way it is structured right now, if you make it all the way to California you can do pretty well. But in terms of the early states, Iowa, New Hampshire, the other states, it just doesn’t work.” “But your point is well taken,” he continued. “I believe in public funding of elections, absolutely. But this system is, I don’t know if the Secretary would agree, is currently very antiquated and no longer applies to modern-day politics.” Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton nodded along with Sanders’ answer, a moment of agreement between them in an otherwise contentious debate. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4208933/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-public-funding-campaign/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4208933/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-public-funding-campaign/"},"headline":"Here's Why Bernie Sanders Didn't Use Public Funding for His Campaign","datePublished":"2016-02-05T03:00:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:47:32.848Z","description":"\"Why aren't you walking the walk on that?\" MSNBC's moderator asked","url":"https://time.com/4208933/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-public-funding-campaign/","keywords":["Bernie Sanders"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3e6749831158b3b/69887c3ccf40a82118c41d23/timepol-democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3e6749831158b3b/69887c3ccf40a82118c41d23/timepol-democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Democratic Presidential Candidates Hillary Clinton And Bernie Sanders Debate In Durham, New Hampshire","caption":"Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. 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