Sanders expresses pride, but says his son will run his own campaign in New Hampshire

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Tuesday said he was “proud” of his son Levi Sanders for his congressional bid in neighboring New Hampshire, but stopped short of giving a formal endorsement.

“I am very proud of Levi’s commitment to public service and his years of work on behalf of low income and working people,” the elder Sanders said in a statement, according to ABC News.

While Levi Sanders is running on policies similar to those championed by Bernie Sanders, including expanding Medicare to cover all Americans and tuition-free higher education, the 2016 presidential candidate and progressive favorite appeared to not want his record to overshadow his son’s.

{mosads}“Levi will be running his own campaign, in his own way, with his own ideas,” he continued. “The decision as to who to vote for will be determined by the people of New Hampshire’s first district, and nobody else.”

Levi Sanders, 48, a legal services analyst, launched a bid earlier this month to succeed Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D), who is not running for reelection. 

“For over 17 years, I have represented the working class who have been beaten up by the system,” he said in a statement on his campaign website. “It is time to demand that we have a system which represents the 99% and not the 1% who have never had it so good.”