Dems Push Back On Sanders’ Comments That ‘a Few’ Want El-sayed To Lose

Sen. Bernie Sanders is infuriating leaders in the Democratic Party — again.

The independent senator’s suggestion to Playbook that “a few” establishment members of the Democratic Party would prefer to see Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed lose with the majority on the line has set off another round of sniping between progressives and moderates. A number of high-level Democrats in Washington and Michigan are irate over what one senior Democratic lawmaker described as Sanders’ “deeply cynical” comments, arguing he has campaign money of his own available to spend if he’s so concerned.

More than a dozen Democratic party leaders and officials told POLITICO they are steamed that, in their words, Sanders would choose to reignite a deeply toxic fight over El-Sayed. The recently minted Democratic nominee has been getting clobbered by GOP attack ads, and Democrats are still trying to mend frayed relationships with Jewish and other historically Democratic-leaning groups in the state.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) said in an interview Monday that he “didn't understand [Sanders’] comments at all.”

“If he wants to win the Senate, he should probably call his friend and tell him to condemn Hasan Piker. What's the problem here? Does he like hate? I hope not,” Gottheimer said, referencing the leftist Twitch streamer who has a history of controversial comments and has campaigned for El-Sayed in Michigan.

Democrats didn’t just take aim at Piker. They also were frustrated that Sanders claimed that some members of the party wouldn’t rally behind El-Sayed, especially as Senate leadership and its campaign apparatus has backed the Michigan nominee.

A Sanders aide said his comments were not directed toward Senate leadership, pointing to him saying “the donor class” is the group that wants to see El-Sayed lose.

Sanders’ response also mentioned “a small number of people who are at the head of the Democratic Party” — language that has irked senior Democrats on Capitol Hill and in Michigan, who interpreted his remarks as a diss to leadership.

“There's a reason candidates backed by Senator Sanders are winning,” spokesperson Jeremy Slevin said in a statement. “Voters want political leaders who will fight for working people, support Medicare for All, oppose sending billions of dollars to the extremist Netanyahu government in Israel and get billionaire money out of politics.”

Still, some Democrats remain bothered that Sanders went after the establishment writ large — even though it’s far from the first time he’s done so.

Jim Kessler, the executive vice president for policy at the moderate Democratic think tank Third Way, said “primary season is for arguing, general election season is for winning” — then took a shot at Sanders.

“Democrats will come together in every state and every race to try to take advantage of the party’s best political environment since 2006,” Kessler said. “As for Bernie, I wish he put more effort behind Hillary [Clinton] in 2016, but he basically walked his own course. But that’s water under the bridge."

A senior Democratic operative, granted anonymity to speak candidly, took aim at Sanders for not spending his own money on El-Sayed’s race, given the nearly $23 million sitting in his campaign account.

“Are you willing to spend?” asked the senior Democratic operative. “Or are you just going to shit on us?”

That Democrat, like most others who talked to POLITICO for this article, declined to go on record to air their grievances.

Sanders hasn’t ruled out deploying his own war chest in key races.

“Sen. Sanders has been working tirelessly to elect progressives at all levels of government, holding dozens of rallies, participating in organizing events, putting staff on the ground and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to support them,” Slevin, Sanders’ spokesperson, said in the statement. “He looks forward to continuing that work in the general election and helping Democrats take back the House and Senate in November."

A number of establishment-linked Democrats said Sanders’ criticism is unfounded, noting that Senate Majority PAC announced a $4.5 million spend against Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan on Monday as part of an overall $20 million spending commitment to the race.

Playbook’s interview with Sanders predated that announcement.

In a statement, SMP reiterated its plans “to elect Abdul and send Mike Rogers back to Florida.” The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is also investing millions in Michigan and launched a six-figure digital ad buy against Mike Rogers at the start of the general election.

"The DSCC has one goal: winning a Democratic Senate majority. We are going to elect Abdul El-Sayed and defeat Mike Rogers, who would be a rubber stamp for Donald Trump and his disastrous agenda,” DSCC spokesperson Maeve Coyle said.

Many establishment Democrats backed the more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) in the primary. Some also continue to raise concerns about leftist influencer Piker.

One Michigan Democrat dismissed Sanders’ assessment that some moderate Democrats want El-Sayed to lose because it will benefit them long-term.

“It’s really just Hillary Scholten in Michigan,” the Democrat said, noting the moderate representative, a Stevens ally, has so far refused to endorse El-Sayed. Stevens herself endorsed El-Sayed after the primary and called for the party to unify behind him.

Scholten told POLITICO in response that “Hasan Piker is making it harder for Democrats to win, and there wouldn’t be much to talk about if everyone followed the example set by leaders like House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senator Elissa Slotkin, and prominent Democrats in Michigan and around the country who have made clear that his rhetoric crosses the line.”

“Being clear about who we are and what we stand for is how Democrats will win in November, and that’s what I’ll continue to do,” Scholten added in a statement.

El-Sayed put some distance between himself and Piker last week after the streamer faced intense criticism for suggesting that American Jewish support for Israel could lead someone to “take action” against Jews in the United States. The discussion is also front of mind for many Democrats on Capitol Hill — who are now grappling with the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America on their left flank.

“We are waging two different battles. DSA is trying to take over the party. Bernie is bitter over not being the nominee in past primaries, and is leading these groups and candidates to undo the party,” said another House Democrat, granted anonymity to candidly discuss sensitive internal dynamics. The House Democrat also slammed Sanders for “looking to hedge his bets and making plans to blame an El-Sayed loss on everyone else, except the unpopularity of his and DSA positions that are not popular in most parts of America” so that his “movement lasts beyond 2026 and into the primary for Dem presidency.”

Aaron Pellish and Erin Doherty contributed to this report.