Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is taking steps toward launching another potential presidential bid by addressing the political shortcomings that hampered his 2016 campaign, Politico reported Monday.

Sanders has been feeding the rumor mill for months following his summer trips to touch base with his grass-roots supporters in Iowa — the state that hosts the nation’s first presidential primary contest. During a July interview with SiriusXM’s Mark Thompson, Sanders said, “I am not taking it off the table,” when asked about a 2020 bid.

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Although the progressive senator from Vermont has refused explicitly to confirm or deny his 2020 presidential election plans, the steps he is taking to move forward from his 2016 disappointment could speak toward a reboot.

The Vermont senator — who topped Morning Consult’s latest Senator Approval Rankings poll as the most popular senator, with a 71 percent favorability rating — reportedly is strengthening his ties with the labor movement and bolstering his foreign-policy positions, Politico reported. Sanders has also positioned himself as a major player in the so-called resistance against President Donald Trump and his “America First” agenda, while championing progressive policies that resonate with his own base.

In addition, Sanders, who briefly switched to the Democratic Party to run in its presidential primary, has been working to repair his relationship with the Democratic Party Establishment, against which he repeatedly railed throughout his campaign. This includes holding meetings with such people as American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and international affairs experts like Bill Perry, former President Bill Clinton’s defense secretary.

Sanders has positioned himself as a major player in the so-called resistance against President Donald Trump and his “America First” agenda.

Despite his decision to work toward wooing Democratic Establishment insiders by bridging the divide, Sanders still eschews moderate, traditional policies.

“The current model of the Democratic Party obviously is not working … I think that the Democratic Party has got to reach out to working people. It’s got to reach out to young people. It’s got to come up with a progressive agenda. And, by the way, that agenda is gaining momentum,” Sanders said back in September on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “That’s the agenda we’ve got to fight on.”

“Anything that makes Bernie more effective at reaching that movement, and continuing to build a powerful progressive base of engaged Americans … is good for the Democratic Party,” Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) told Politico.

Ellison, the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), hails from the progressive-liberal wing of the Democratic Party, which Sanders carried during his 2016 presidential primary bid against its ultimate nominee, Hillary Clinton.

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Not everyone Politico spoke to believed that Sanders’ actions pointed to a definitive decision to run again. Noting that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) appointed Sanders to the position of “outreach chairman” last year, some have speculated that Sanders is just doing this job.

“He is now in a very different position than he’s ever been in before. He’s just stepping into the role,” Sanders’ senior adviser, Ari Rabin-Havt, told Politico. “Let’s be clear: He’s in charge of outreach for the caucus. So when people say he’s doing a better job of reaching out? Well, yeah, he’s doing his job. This is a new phase of his career.”

Related: Bernie Sanders to Run Again?

But Democratic strategist Brad Bannon told The Hill on Friday that Sanders’ “people have never gone away,” despite his 2016 primary defeat.

“And he has a loyal core following out there that will be with him, come hell or high water,” Bannon added. “The Sanders wing is becoming the dominant wing of the party.”

Although Sanders enjoyed overwhelmingly vocal support during the course of his 2016 campaign, many of his enthusiastic voters felt betrayed when he gave up much of his “outsider” credibility and sided with the Democratic Party Establishment in endorsing Clinton’s candidacy. Roughly one in 10 Sanders voters ended up choosing another anti-Establishment contender by voting for Trump on Election Day, a Cooperative Congressional Election Study found.

In addition, many of Sanders’ supporters are still angry that the DNC was “rigged” in Clinton’s favor during the course of the primary.

Should Sanders decide to run again, he would face a potentially crowded field of contenders ranging from moderate, Establishment Democrats to progressive liberals much younger than the 76-year-old Vermont senator. Former Vice President Joe Biden has also signaled that he is eying a potential 2020 bid to oust Trump, expressing his regret that he chose not to run in 2016.

(photo credit, homepage image: Bernie Sanders, CC BY 2.0, by Nick Solari; photo credit, article image: Bernie Sanders for PresidentCC BY 2.0, by Phil Roeder)