Given the fact that Hitler and Stalin were once Time magazine’s “Man of the Year,” being chosen for the annual cover isn’t necessarily an endorsement. But the title, now called “Person of the Year,” has a popular favorite for 2015: Bernie Sanders.
Time editors have revealed the results of an online poll that showed the Vermont senator atop the field. Far behind was GOP hopeful Donald Trump, who finished behind Jennifer Lawrence and just ahead of Serena Williams.
But the online poll results don’t necessarily mean Sanders will be on the cover of Time. The actual Person of the Year, to be decided by Time editors, will be revealed Wednesday morning.
Other nominees are:
- Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who as leader of ISIS has inspired followers to both fight in his self-declared caliphate of Iraq and Syria, and also stage attacks in countries like Tunisia and France.
- Black Lives Matter activists, who have protested inequality towards African Americans, especially in their treatment by law enforcement.
- Caitlyn Jenner, whose coming out as a transgender woman prompted widespread conversations about gender identity and issues of equality for the LGBT community.
- Travis Kalanick, who as CEO of Uber drove his car-hailing company to a nearly $70 billion valuation, but also drew criticism about the downside of the sharing economy.
- Angela Merkel, who as German chancellor has been at the center of major news events this year, from economic strife in the Eurozone to Europe’s ongoing migrant crisis.
- Vladimir Putin, who as president of Russia has defied Western sanctions over his country’s military activity in Ukraine to play a critical but precarious role in the war on ISIS.
- Hassan Rouhani, who as president of Iran is seeking to bring his country out of pariah status and repair its sanctions-crippled economy by pursuing a nuclear deal with the West.