Ex-Amazon Executive Famous For Bernie Sanders Twitter Feud Eyes Political Career

After leaving Amazon.com Inc AMZN, a former executive has resigned from the company he subsequently joined as CEO.

Here’s a look back at Dave Clark’s clash with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and the ex-Amazon executive's potential political aspirations.

What Happened: Clark spent 23 years at Amazon, serving as the consumer chief before leaving to serve as the CEO of supply chain management and logistics company Flexport.

Just over a year after joining Flexport, Clark has announced he is resigning from the role.

“Today, Ryan and I discussed his desire to return to focusing on growth in the core freight business. In light of that, I feel he is best suited to lead the company in that direction,” Clark posted on Twitter of Flexport founder and new CEO Ryan Petersen.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Clark is exploring a political career, with sights on the Texas governorship in the 2026 election. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has served as governor of Texas since 2015 and has not announced if he will seek re-election for a fourth term in 2026.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Clark has hired political consultants to explore a potential run for governor of Texas, where the former executive lives.

Clark is said to be a moderate Republican. In the 2022 election, Abbott beat Democrat Beto O’Rourke in his most recent re-election bid.

Related Link: Amazon Delivers Q2 Earnings Gainst To Investors 

Why It’s Important: Clark served various roles at Amazon and helped grow the logistics business of the company.

Flexport was founded in 2013 and has raised over $2 billion from investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, MSD Partners and Softbank’s Vision Fund. In February 2022, the logistics company was valued at $8 billion in a new funding round of $935 million.

Prior to joining Flexport, Clark faced controversy during his time at Amazon involving Senator Sanders.

The Vermont Senator has been a proponent of unions over the years, fighting against companies like Amazon that have tried to prevent unions from forming.

With Sanders scheduled for a trip to Birmingham, Alabama to meet with Amazon warehouse workers looking to unionize in 2021, Clark took to Twitter to take on the senator.

“I welcome @SenSanders to Birmingham and appreciate his push for a progressive workplace,” Clark tweeted at the time. “I often say we are the Bernie Sanders of employers, but that’s not quite right because we actually deliver a progressive workplace for our constituents: a $15 minimum wage, health care from day one, career progression, and a safe and inclusive work environment.”

Clark went on to tell his followers on Twitter that they could go downtown to hear Sanders advocating for a $15-an-hour wage and health care, or they could join Amazon and earn $15 an hour and have good health care.

The tweets from Clark sparked a backlash from many people on Twitter.

A political run by Clark could see him butting heads with members of the Senate and other political figures over his past comments about working wages, working conditions and unions.

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