Bernie Sanders wins poll for Time Person of the Year

He may be the Democrats’ second choice in the polls, but Bernie Sanders has topped Hillary Clinton as the people’s choice in Time magazine’s annual Person of the Year vote.

In the poll, Clinton and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump each received less than 2 percent of the vote. Pope Francis trailed slightly behind, with 3.7 percent of the votes. For the lengthy list of persons who received votes by readers – including Stephen Colbert, Adele, and refugees – view the Times list here.

“I don’t think any sensible person would disagree that the invasion of Iraq led to the massive instability we’re seeing right now, ” Sanders said, as the Democrat presidential nomination contenders met for their second debate in Des Moines, Iowa, on November 14.

Though, several presidents have been chosen once elected, including Franklin Delano Roosevelt in (1932, 1934 and 1941), Ronald Reagan (1980 and 1984) and Barack Obama (2008 and 2012).

Sanders’ campaign has been driven by a large network of motivated grassroots supporters, whose engagement may have helped him win. Bernie Sanders speaks at a rally November 5. “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”.

According to Time, Person of the Year isn’t necessarily a popularity contest but a choice of “the person Time believes most influenced the news this year, for better or worse”.

TIME’s editors will select the Person of the Year – the person they determine had the greatest impact on the news this year – and announce the selection Wednesday on NBC’s “Today”.