The upcoming presidential contest was shaping up to be one of the most underwhelming in electoral history. An heir to the Bush dynasty, real-estate magnate Jeb, looked like the safest bet to become the Republican presidential nominee, and challenge the anointed frontrunner from the Democrats’ leading dynasty, business-friendly Hillary Clinton.

Few people on the Left, or even among liberals, could manage any excitement about getting “Ready for Hillary,” the former Walmart board member, regardless of the populist veneer she’s been trying out of late. So it’s no surprise that, for many, the decision of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to challenge Clinton for the Democratic nomination offers an alternative.

Even Bhaskar Sunkara argues here in Jacobin that, “Sanders’s candidacy could strengthen the Left in the long run. The tensions among Democrats are serious and raise the possibility for the realignment of progressive forces on a totally different basis.”