House Democrats are bracing for a presidential ticket led by democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, whose lead in polling and delegate support is making it increasingly unlikely that a centrist candidate can win the nomination.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Tuesday she is not concerned that a Sanders-led ticket would make it harder to win the White House or maintain control of the House. Pelosi, a California Democrat, also said she plans to back Sanders if he wins the nomination, although she has not endorsed any Democratic presidential candidate so far.
But one of her top lieutenants is no fan of Sanders, and as Pelosi was speaking Tuesday, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn was in the midst of endorsing Joe Biden in the critical South Carolina primary.
Clyburn is an influential political figure in the Palmetto State, where he has served in Congress since 1993. His decision to back the former vice president is one of the strongest signals from the Democratic establishment that it is uncomfortable with Sanders winning the nomination.
Clyburn told ABC’s This Week that a Sanders-led ticket in November “would be a real burden” for Democrats running in critical swing districts needed to keep Democrats in the House majority.
Most Democratic leaders are remaining publicly supportive of Sanders.
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg hammered Sanders during the Tuesday night debate in South Carolina, warning that if Sanders heads the ticket, the House would lose the majority to the GOP because the Sanders agenda, which includes free healthcare for all, is far too costly.
“If you want to keep the House in Democratic hands, you might want to check with the people who actually turned the House blue, 40 Democrats who are not running on your platform,” Buttigieg said. “They are running away from your platform as fast as they possibly can.”
Democrats have steered clear of endorsing the Sanders agenda but have also stopped short of condemning it or opposing his candidacy despite his increasingly solid lead.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, said he’s not endorsing a candidate.
“I’m aggressively neutral because anybody who emerges would be better than the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, who is a total disgrace, in my humble opinion,” Jeffries, a New York lawmaker, said on Tuesday. “If Bernie Sanders emerges as the nominee, if Joe Biden emerges as the nominee, and all points in between. I plan to support that nominee.”
Sanders is leading all Democratic candidates in pledged delegates but may come short of the 1,991 delegates needed to secure the nomination outright. His fate could rest on a faction of “superdelegates,” made up of members of Congress, Democratic National Committee members, and party elites who will be permitted to cast a vote if no nominee wins a majority of pledged delegates.
[Read more: Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Party have pulled each other to the left]
Democrats downplay Sanders’s influence on their House majority and whether he would make it harder for swing district Democrats to win reelection.
Deputy Caucus Chair Katherine Clark of Massachusetts suggested Democratic lawmakers running in swing districts would stay local and not focus on the top of the ticket or any of Sanders’s socialist policies, such as free college tuition and a “Green New Deal,” if he is the nominee.
“Talk to people. Hold town halls. Be available,” Clark said, describing the plans for swing-district centrists. “That is why they are going to be successful in the fall. It’s that connection and the priorities for the people’s agenda, healthcare, creating great jobs, and getting corruption and big money out of politics.”
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said the House has a slate of strong incumbents, more than 30 of them in competitive races.
Hoyer declined to comment specifically on Sanders, his agenda, or their consequences for down-ballot races.
“The presidential candidates are raising the issues they think are relevant and that they want the American people to consider,” Hoyer said. “That’s what campaigns are about, and that is what debates are about.”
Hoyer said he has “a role to play,” along with Pelosi, “in making sure people know we are focused on the issues that affect them, which is healthcare, jobs, infrastructure, global warming, education.”
Some House and Senate Democrats criticized Sanders this week for praising Fidel Castro’s communist takeover in Cuba, which he said increased literacy.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, declined to respond to a question about Sanders’s praise of Castro.
“Look: The bottom line is very simple,” Schumer said. “We have a lot of strong nominees. We have a lot of Senate candidates running. I’m not supporting one over the other, but I think every one of them will beat President Trump.”
