Sanders endorses Dem candidates in critical Senate races

Bernie Sanders on Monday endorsed several Democratic candidates in key Senate races as the former Democratic presidential candidate seeks to help the party take back control of the upper chamber.

{mosads}In an email to supporters, the Vermont senator announced he’s throwing his support behind former gubernatorial chief of staff Katie McGinty in Pennsylvania, Gov. Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire, former Gov. Ted Strickland in Ohio and former state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada.

“I want to be clear: It is very important that our movement holds public officials accountable,” Sanders writes. “The Democratic Party passed an extremely progressive agenda at the convention. Our job is to make sure that platform is implemented. That will not happen without Democratic control of the Senate.”

“Perhaps the most important reason to win a progressive majority in the Senate is because we must support nominees for the Supreme Court who will vote to overturn Citizens United.”

Sanders called on supporters to chip in to help these candidates, asking them to contribute $2.70, which is a spin-off of the $27 average small-donor donation to his presidential campaign. The email also targets Charles and David Koch, the billionaire brothers whose large donor network is spending millions to preserve Republicans’ majority.

After dropping out of the Democratic presidential primary, Sanders said he would help Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton campaign as well as candidates in down-ballot races.

During a private call with Democratic National Committee (DNC) officials earlier this month, his former campaign manager Jeff Weaver vowed that the senator would help get down-ballot Democrats elected in November.

Also this month, Sanders launched “Our Revolution,” a new organization that builds on the energy from his presidential campaign and will help progressive candidates nationwide.

If Democrats want to retake the Senate, they will need to net four seats and retain the White House. They need to defend 10 seats, while Republicans have more of an uphill battle, needing to defend 24 seats.