As the primaries wind down, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is using the millions of dollars he has raised over the past year to help support progressives in down-ballot races throughout the country.
Sanders will raise money for eight candidates running for seats in state legislatures: Justin Bamberg of South Carolina, David Bowen of Wisconsin, Clara Hart of South Dakota, Terry Alexander of South Carolina, Carol Ammons of Illinois, Jane Kim of California and Chris Pearson of Vermont.
Over the course of his campaign Sanders raised hundreds of millions of dollars through grassroots efforts, and currently has between $20 and $30 million in the bank. With fewer than 10 primaries left in the Democratic nominating process, the Vermont senator is hundreds of delegates behind Hillary Clinton.
Sanders has been using his campaign to influence the Democratic Party. On Monday the Democratic National Committee announced, in an unprecedented move, that Sanders and Clinton would be able to appoint a proportional amount of delegates to the party’s platform committee. On the campaign trail, Sanders surrogates often remind voters to help elect progressives in their local elections.
“Bernie believes that the path toward bold change requires leaders to take back control of state capitols around the country and ensure fair redistricting in 2020,” Sanders’ campaign manager Jeff Weaver, said in a statement Tuesday “The leaders we’re raising money for today are the members of Congress, senators and presidential candidates of tomorrow.”
Sanders has also used campaign funds to raise money for four congressional candidates, Lucy Flores of Nevada, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Zephyr Teachout of New York and Tim Canova of Florida. Canova is running against DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz in her congressional primary.
