Bernie Sanders announces presidential run with vow to 'transform the country and defeat Trump'

Democratic figurehead Bernie Sanders has announced his intention to run for the US Presidency in 2020.

Senator Sanders now faces a crowded field to become his party's candidate.

He narrowly missed out to Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democrat spot, who then lost the election to President Donald Trump.

The 77-year-old Vermont politician said, in an email announcing his campaign, his aim was "transforming our country".

He said: "Our campaign is not only about defeating Donald Trump.

"Our campaign is about transforming our country and creating a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice."

Mr Sanders said he was going to launch an campaign "unprecedented in modern American history" and described a grassroots movement "to lay the groundwork for transforming the economic and political life of this country".

"We're gonna win," Mr Sanders told CBS.

He looks set to be a formidale contestant for the spot, after winning more than 13 million votes in 2016 and dozens of primaries and caucuses.

His last campaign is somewhat credited for a leftward lurch that has dominated Democratic politics in the Trump era.

The nation's first primary in New Hampshire looks like a well positioned starting point for Mr Sanders, after he won it by 22 points in 2016.

However, he faces stern competition and California senator Kamala Harris, another Democratic presidential contender, was in New Hampshire on Monday.

She said she would compete for the state and also appeared to take a dig at Mr Sanders.

"The people of New Hampshire will tell me what's required to compete in New Hampshire," she told shoppers at a bookshop in Concord.

"But I will tell you I'm not a democratic socialist."

Senator Elizabeth Warren, of nearby Massachusetts, will also be in New Hampshire on Friday.

A question surrounding Mr Sanders's candidacy is how he will compete against someone like Ms Warren, who shares many of his policy goals and has also hired Brendan Summers, who managed Mr Sanders's 2016 Iowa campaign.

Other staff from Mr Sanders's first bid have also stated they would consider working for other candidates in 2020.