Bernie Sanders’ son Levi is running for Congress

Levi Sanders joins a crowded field vying for the open seat

Levi Sanders listens to his father Bernie Sanders speak during the 2016 presidential campaign, in New York City (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

Bernie Sanders’ son Levi has officially launched a bid to join his father in Congress.

Levi Sanders said he would run for an open House of Representatives seat in New Hampshire, joining a crowded field seeking to replace retiring Democrat Carol Shea-Porter.

His campaign announcement echoed his father’s progressive platform, advocating for universal healthcare and tuition-free public higher education.

“It is time to demand that we have a system which represents the 99% and not the 1% who have never had it so good,” Levi Sanders said in a statement on his campaign website.

While Levi Sanders may get a boost from name recognition, he will be vying with several other Democrats who have already been piling up campaign donations.

Six other Democrats have already entered the race, according to the Federal Elections Commission, and the top three fundraisers - Marine Corps veteran Maura Corby Sullivan, Executive Councilor Chris Pappas and state Representative Mark MacKenzie - have already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The National Republican Congressional Committee is targeted the open seat as a possible pickup. Multiple Republicans, including former South Hampton police chief Eddie Edwards and state Senator Andy Sanborn, are running for the seat.

Donald Trump won a majority of the district’s votes in 2016, moving it into the Republican column after Barack Obama carried the district in 2012.