Sen. Bernie Sanders might be done touring the country for now. But he’s still making his mark on the Democratic Party by backing progressive candidates earlier than ever ahead of the 2026 midterms — and that early action is by design.
“This is a pivotal moment in American history. And it is absolutely imperative that we have candidates and elected officials who have the guts to say, ‘No, I don’t want your billionaire campaign contributions. I’m going to stand up for working families,’” the Vermont independent told NBC News in an interview, acknowledging that he is intentionally endorsing candidates early in their campaigns.
“So the people that we are endorsing believe that health care is a human right. They understand that the current campaign finance system is broken and corrupt. We got to get rid of the Citizens United. They want to raise the minimum wage,” Sanders said. “They are standing up for working people, and I believe they’re going to win.”
So far, Sanders has endorsed seven candidates for statewide office and for Congress ahead of the 2026 midterms, including some in crucial midterm battlegrounds, and he said there could be “more to come.” It’s a departure from recent election cycles, when Sanders often backed his chosen candidates just a few weeks before a primary election. And the strategy suggests that Sanders sees an opening to reshape the Democratic Party, which is grappling with historically low ratings.
“What the American people are saying [is]: Who is standing up for us? Who understands our pain? Who’s going to improve our lives?” Sanders said. “And I think over the years, the Democratic Party has done a lot of good things in terms of women’s rights, the environment, civil rights, gay rights. But in terms of the needs of the working class, I’m sorry to have to say they have not.”
The endorsements could also be early indicators of how Sanders may be looking to ensure that the movement that boosted his two presidential runs will persist, even if he passes on a third run for the White House.
“Well, I just had my 84th birthday,” Sanders said when asked if he was weighing a presidential run in 2028. “So I think that’s a little bit too old to be running for president.”
Sanders’ early 2026 endorsements
One of those seven midterm endorsements Sanders has made came in Michigan, where the open Senate race will be critical to the chamber’s balance of power after next year. Former Wayne County health director Abdul El-Sayed launched his campaign in April with Sanders’ endorsement.
When El-Sayed ran for governor in 2018, Sanders backed him less than a month before the Democratic primary, which El-Sayed ultimately lost to now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
“When Sen. Sanders endorses this early in the race, he defines that lane about being the one who’s working for working people and focused on the people who’ve been locked out for too long. He defines it early. And so it changes the way that other folks try to think about who they are and position themselves,” El-Sayed said.
He said Sanders’ endorsement has had “a huge tangible impact” by generating early energy around his bid, bringing supporters out to events and boosting his fundraising.
Sanders’ sizable fundraising list is a particular boon to his preferred candidates.
Democrat Rebecca Cooke, who is making another run for a House seat in Wisconsin after losing a close race last year against GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden, is one example. The week before Sanders endorsed Cooke in June, Cooke’s campaign pulled in $54,000 in online donations, according to an NBC News analysis of Federal Election Commission records filed by ActBlue, the main online donor processor for Democratic campaigns.
In the seven days after Sanders endorsed, Cooke’s campaign raised nearly $123,000 online. A source with the Cooke campaign also said the campaign has added “dozens” of new volunteers and nearly 10,000 new grassroots donors since the Sanders endorsement.
Faiz Shakir, Sanders’ chief political adviser, said the Sanders operation has already raised “hundreds of thousands of dollars” for his endorsed candidates. And Sanders’ donor list has only grown since his nationwide “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, which included 35 stops across 21 states and saw more than 300,000 people attend the events.
Both Cooke and El-Sayed appeared at stops on that tour, which Shakir said became a “magnet” for other potential candidates. He said that more candidates are proactively seeking Sanders’ endorsement this election cycle.
“People see that he can be an influential factor in a competitive primary,” Shakir said, noting that part of Sanders’ appeal is that he has a clear message.
“It’s not just ‘Resist Trump,’” Shakir said. “It’s, ‘What kind of working-class agenda would you want to see in this country?’”
Shakir said Sanders’ endorsement process typically involves candidates filling out a questionnaire and having conversations with Sanders to ensure they are aligned with the senator on three main issues: supporting “Medicare for All,” “a willingness to take on big money,” and opposing using “U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s assault on the Palestinian people.”
Along with El-Sayed and Cooke, Sanders has endorsed Maine oyster farmer Graham Platner in the race against GOP Sen. Susan Collins, which will be central to Democrats’ slim path to the Senate majority, and former state Sen. Troy Jackson in Maine’s open race for governor.
Sanders has also backed firefighter Bob Brooks in Pennsylvania’s competitive 7th District in the Lehigh Valley; state Sen. Robert Peters in Illinois’ open, Chicago-area 2nd District; and state Rep. Donavan McKinney, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar in Michigan’s deep-blue, Detroit-based 13th District.
How Sanders shapes campaigns
Sanders’ candidates have had mixed success in recent primaries, which Shakir chalked up to his political operation previously placing more emphasis on candidates’ agenda and issue positions than on their ability to win. But Shakir thinks that will change this election cycle, with candidates who are both aligned with Sanders’ working-class aims and have a good shot at winning.
“This cycle we’re finding that there are way more candidates and opportunities who can combine both,” Shakir said, later adding that working-class voters are “hunting for candidates who are willing to take on the establishment.”
Even if his preferred candidates win their primaries, Republicans are already signaling that they plan to tie them to Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, in competitive general elections. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has dubbed El-Sayed a “socialist” in statements, which El-Sayed denied.
“I’m just not a socialist. I’m too much of a scientist to believe in any ideology. I’m interested in outcomes that work for people,” El-Sayed said, noting he supports an economy built by small businesses, unions, and government investments in health care, education and infrastructure.
Jim Kessler, executive vice president for policy at the centrist think tank Third Way, said candidates endorsed by Sanders should be prepared to answer questions about their support for socialism, which he said are “legitimate.”
Kessler noted Democrats across the ideological spectrum are aligned on raising taxes for billionaires, but he added, “If you are considered weak on crime, dismissive of the border, overly woke on culture issues, and not a defender of capitalism, albeit regulated, don’t bother running in a swing state. You will lose.”
But Sanders and his allies believe he has a message that resonates in electoral battlegrounds, including in parts of the country where President Donald Trump has found success.
“What is so radical about saying we need an economy that works for everybody, not just for Mr. [Elon] Musk and his billionaire friends?” Sanders said. “I don’t think that’s a terribly radical proposition.”