--- title: Sanders Halts Campaign Activity Amid Medical Emergency description: Sen. Bernie Sanders has cancelled 2020 Democratic presidential primary campaign activity after having two stents inserted to treat a blocked artery canonical: https://time.com/5690996/bernie-sanders-stent-artery-campaign/ author: Lissandra Villa article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-10-02T15:10:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T21:21:08.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Sanders Halts Campaign Activity Amid Medical Emergency og:description: Sen. Bernie Sanders has cancelled 2020 Democratic presidential primary campaign activity after having two stents inserted to treat a blocked artery og:url: https://time.com/5690996/bernie-sanders-stent-artery-campaign/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt39cccbe93ebe02b8/698a03b886f68efbf46eda8f/bernie-sanders-artery-stents.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Vermont senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sanders Halts Campaign Activity Amid Medical Emergency twitter:description: Sen. Bernie Sanders has cancelled 2020 Democratic presidential primary campaign activity after having two stents inserted to treat a blocked artery twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt39cccbe93ebe02b8/698a03b886f68efbf46eda8f/bernie-sanders-artery-stents.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bernie Sanders Cancels Campaign Activity Until Further Notice Following Medical Emergency  by [Lissandra Villa](https://time.com/author/lissandra-villa/)  ## Lissandra Villa Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:21 PM UTCPublished: Oct 2, 2019 3:10 PM UTC  Vermont senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders campaigns at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. Vermont senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders campaigns at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.Preston Ehrler/SOPA Images—SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett  by [Lissandra Villa](https://time.com/author/lissandra-villa/)  ## Lissandra Villa Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:21 PM UTCPublished: Oct 2, 2019 3:10 PM UTC [Sen. Bernie Sanders](https://time.com/longform/bernie-sanders-2020/), one of the front runners in the 2020 Democratic primary, has canceled campaign activity until further notice following an emergency heart procedure, his campaign announced Wednesday morning. His campaign said Sanders experienced chest discomfort during a campaign event on Tuesday evening. Health evaluations that followed revealed Sanders had a blockage in an artery for which two stents were “successfully inserted.” “Sen. Sanders is conversing and in good spirits. He will be resting up over the next few days. We are canceling his events and appearances until further notice, and we will continue to provide appropriate updates,” said Jeff Weaver, a senior adviser to Sanders, in the statement. He was scheduled to be in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Later this week, Sanders was expected in California for a two-day college tour focused on Latino voter outreach. The news comes in what had been a strong week for the campaign so far, with the announcement that Sanders raised $25.3 million in the third fundraising quarter of the year. He had also just announced his first ad buy for Iowa of his 2020 campaign on Tuesday, but his campaign confirmed to TIME that it had been postponed on Wednesday morning. Sanders, who came to national prominence during his 2016 primary run against Hillary Clinton, is the [only self-described “democratic socialist”](https://time.com/4121126/bernie-sanders-democratic-socialism/) running in the field. He consistently comes in the top five candidates in the polls. Other 2020 candidates rushed to send well wishes to Sanders on Wednesday morning, including his close friend [Sen. Elizabeth Warren](https://time.com/longform/elizabeth-warren-2020/), another of the field’s front runners. “Bruce, Team Warren, and I are sending all our best wishes for a speedy recovery to @BernieSanders. I hope to see my friend back on the campaign trail very soon,” Warren tweeted. > [](https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1179414641803440131) On the trail, Warren said she’d called and texted Sanders as well. While the U.S. Senate is currently in recess, Keane Bhatt, his Senate communications director, said in a statement to TIME that “the Senator intends to fulfill his Senate duties to the best of his ability upon the return to session.” _— With reporting by Charlotte Alter_ **Correction, Oct. 2** _The original version of this story misstated Sen. Bernie Sanders’ self-described political philosophy. He uses the label “democratic socialist,” not “socialist”_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5690996/bernie-sanders-stent-artery-campaign/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5690996/bernie-sanders-stent-artery-campaign/"},"headline":"Bernie Sanders Cancels Campaign Activity Until Further Notice Following Medical Emergency","datePublished":"2019-10-02T15:10:14.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T21:21:08.000Z","description":"Sen. 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