Sanders: GOP has ‘excellent’ chance of gaining control of House, possibly Senate

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told Politico in an interview published Thursday that enthusiasm within the Democratic Party is “extremely low” and warned of low turnout from the party’s base in this year’s midterm elections.

Sanders argued that Democrats won’t clinch victories in the midterms even after the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade and the GOP’s opposition to most gun control measures following two high-profile mass shootings in May.

“The Republicans stand an excellent chance of gaining control of the House and quite possibly the Senate,” Sanders told Politico.

Democrats face significant headwinds to maintain their razor-thin majorities in Congress in the midterm elections, a problem that has only been exacerbated by voters’ concerns over high inflation.

Inflation rates have soared to near 40-year highs in the wake of the pandemic. Many Americans are feeling the financial squeeze at the gas pump and the grocery store.

Sanders reiterated his long-publicized concern over the party’s handling of two of its centrists, Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), who have repeatedly opposed large components of President Biden’s top domestic agenda items.

After months of negotiations on Biden’s Build Back Better agenda last year, Manchin rejected the sweeping package that included climate-related provisions and an expansion of the social safety net.

In a 50-50 Senate, Democrats needed every member of their party’s vote to move forward with the legislation.

“Two corporate Democrats, Sens. Manchin and Sen. Sinema, sabotaged [Build Back Better],” Sanders told Politico. “And it has been downhill ever since for the Democratic Party.”

Manchin has been negotiating with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on a bill that would enact some pieces of the Build Back Better bill ahead of the midterms, namely legislation to confront climate change and lower prescription drug prices.

But Sanders criticized the lengthy back-and-forth between the two senators behind closed doors.

“They have been negotiating for nine months,” Sanders told Politico. “This is not exactly terribly effective negotiation. And during those nine months, support for Democrats has dissipated very rapidly.”

Sanders raised alarm bells about support “fading away” from the working class as well as young, Hispanic, Asian American and Black voters.

“You really can’t win an election with a bumper sticker that says: ‘Well, we can’t do much, but the other side is worse,’” Sanders told Politico.