Sanders endorses more than 150 down-ballot Democrats

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced endorsements for more than 150 Democrats running in local races across the country. 

Sanders said the 172 contenders he endorsed Friday would be strong advocates for the progressive movement and that victories at the local level will help lay the foundation for a “political revolution.” 

“Yes — we all must do everything we can to defeat Donald Trump who is a threat to the very future of our democracy. But it’s not just the White House or seats in the U.S. Congress that are up for grabs in this election,” Sanders wrote in a Medium post. “In every corner of the country, strong progressives are running at the state and local level to represent our movement and lead the fight to transform this country.

“We need to continue building and strengthening our movement from the ground up by electing more progressives to state and local positions,” he continued. “Because the truth is that the victories we accomplish in this election will lay the groundwork for the future of our political revolution.” 

The endorsed candidates are running for an array of positions, including state representative, state senator, county attorney, city council, sheriff and more. The candidates are running in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Sanders has already endorsed several candidates in some of the highest profile congressional races across the country. He’s also come out in support of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, whom he faced off against in the Democratic presidential primary.

The Vermont senator has flexed his organizational muscle since his presidential candidacy in 2016 shot him to national prominence, supporting an array of progressive groups and candidates who have helped lurch the Democratic Party to the left since the last White House race and bring platforms like universal health coverage into the mainstream.