Sanders Ramps Up His Midterm Play With Cash Boost For Candidates

Bernie Sanders is cracking open his war chest.

For months, the Vermont senator criss-crossed the country vaulting progressives to a series of primary wins. Now, he told POLITICO, he’s dipping into his substantial campaign coffers as part of a broader effort to propel battleground Democrats over the finish line in November.

His campaign had nearly $23 million as of July 1, and is currently in the process of contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to support Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota’s Senate race, according to Sanders’ campaign and a second person granted anonymity to share details of the transfer. He also plans to financially boost other candidates he’s endorsed, including Angie Nixon’s Senate campaign in Florida and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s reelection bid, according to Sanders’ campaign.

Those donations, which have not previously been reported, are the first Sanders has made from his campaign account for the general election, part of a surge of activity from the left’s leading figurehead in the final midterm sprint.

“I am very proud that many strong progressives have won Democratic primaries. We got to defend them right now,” the Vermont senator said in a brief interview Tuesday. “We got three Senate races in Michigan and Minnesota and Florida that I want to see us win, three great candidates, and they’re all taking on enormous amounts of money. So we need to strengthen the grassroots movement in those states. Got great congressional candidates in Wisconsin, Ohio, elsewhere … so we got a lot of work in front of us."

Sanders’ operation is also spending to hire more full-time organizers in Michigan, Minnesota and Florida, according to his team, and is planning get-out-the-vote text campaigns for federal candidates he’s endorsed.

Sanders’ escalating efforts come as some Democrats have wondered whether the senator — having flexed considerable influence after helping power a series of high-profile primary wins — would tap his significant cash reserves to help steer his slate to victory in key battlegrounds where Republicans are vastly outspending their opponents.

“You have no races of your own in the future, and you care about these races. You could put that money into independent expenditure or something for these candidates to try to push them forward,” said one progressive Democratic strategist working on congressional races who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the party’s financial challenges.

Other leading Democratic senators are also sitting on large sums. But Sanders, whose presidential campaigns turbocharged the current progressive movement, is a singular figure in Democratic politics — and is often scrutinized as such. At 85, he is unlikely to mount another campaign himself. And progressives are counting on November wins to prove they can succeed in swing states and districts.

“Senator Sanders has been more essential to the campaign to protect our democracy and elect Democrats than any other member of the caucus,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who recently stepped up his own midterms involvement by contributing more than $500,000 to Democratic committees and state parties. “Nobody should have a single complaint about the effort Bernie is putting in.”

As Sanders campaigned for candidates, he also raised over $2.8 million for them through email fundraising solicitations over the course of the cycle. The most, roughly $574,000, was for Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Sanders’ team said. Those totals have not previously been reported.

In the final weeks of the general election, Sanders is stepping up his travel. He’s hitting the trail for Randy Villegas and Rep. Aisha Wahab in California next week and is expected to hold more events through October for House and Senate candidates. Sanders said on a call with reporters on Tuesday that his schedule is still “in flux” but that he intends to campaign for all of the Senate candidates he’s endorsed “and maybe some others as well.”

His midterm plans are an extension of the $14 million Sanders’ operation has spent over the past two years on rallies and grassroots organizing around his “Fighting Oligarchy” campaign. He’s also spent “additional sums” to support local, state and federal candidates, said Sanders spokesperson Jeremy Slevin.

“With very few exceptions, we do not make contributions to state Democratic parties, the consultant class or 30-second TV ads. We think it is much more important to invest heavily in building a grassroots movement,” Slevin said in a statement. “Bernie looks forward to continuing that work in the general election and helping Democrats take back the House and Senate in November.”

To that end, Sanders said he doesn’t plan to transfer money to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

“At this point, I think TV ads, in most cases, are less important than building the grassroots movement,” he said.

Sanders’ increased involvement comes at a critical moment for many of his candidates.

El-Sayed and Flanagan are both locked in tight races, according to polls, while Nixon could be within striking distance of Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) in Florida, a massively expensive state to campaign in.

“The senator’s support was critical for our victory in August and will be critical as we build a broad coalition to beat Mike Rogers in November,” El-Sayed spokesperson Roxie Richner said in a statement. “We look forward to having him back to Michigan.”

Republicans are swamping Democrats on the airwaves across the major House and Senate races — including a roughly $30 million advantage in Michigan from Aug. 1 through Election Day — leaving Democrats scrambling for more cash and sparring over where to spend their limited resources.

Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden, a longtime Hillary Clinton adviser who has been critical of Sanders in the past, suggested in a post on X on Monday that Sanders could dig into his coffers to support Nixon.

Asked on Tuesday about the post, Tanden told POLITICO that “Sen. Sanders is an incredibly influential and consequential leader in the Democratic Party. We have an all-hands-on-deck moment in front of us to stop the Trump administration. It is crucial to win the Senate to do that, and he has a vital role to play in every way he can.”

Nixon’s campaign manager, Eunic Epstein-Ortiz, praised Sanders’ willingness to invest in the state.

“He and his team have made clear they’re part of Team Angie and will continue to support this campaign,” Epstein-Ortiz said in a statement. “We’re grateful for his support, including his willingness to invest directly in winning for the people of Florida. Sen. Sanders sees the opportunity here and is willing to help us seize it. He knows Florida is competitive, believes Angie can win, and understands this is a race worth investing in.”

Sanders also remains a popular surrogate even as Republicans make him an attack line and some battleground Democrats reject appearances from other party leaders as they look to create some distance from a damaged party brand.

Rebecca Cooke, the Democratic nominee in a top Wisconsin battleground, has said she did not want to campaign with former Vice President Kamala Harris this fall — but has played up her support for Sanders. She featured the senator in her primary ads, while his team sent texts encouraging voters to turn out for her ahead of the August election.

There are talks about Sanders doing an event with Cooke in Wisconsin, according to a person familiar with the planning.

Cooke said in a statement that Sanders has crossover appeal with Trump voters.

“His sincerity about standing up for people who are getting screwed resonates a lot with families like mine,” she said.