Politics

Bernie Sanders Still Won’t Endorse His Own Son

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Levi Sanders is running for the Democratic congressional nomination in New Hampshire, but he can’t count on his father for his endorsement.

Bernie Sanders, who is currently a senator in Vermont, was able to beat Democratic incumbent Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary  by sweeping 60 percent of the votes because of his large following in New Hampshire, according to polling data by The New York Times. But since his son announced his run for Congress back in February, the current senator has yet to publicly support or even visit the state that his son is campaigning for against eight other Democratic candidates.

“Levi has spent his life in service to low-income and working families, and I am very proud of all that he has done,” the senior Sanders said to the Boston Globe on Thursday. “In our family, however, we do not believe in dynastic politics. Levi is running his own campaign in his own way.”

But those on the ground in New Hampshire say Levi Sanders doesn’t stand a fighting chance.

“Nobody I know is really considering Levi as an option,” said former state senator Burt Cohen, who was endorsed by Bernie Sanders in 2016, to the Boston Globe on Thursday. “No, it’s actually worse than that: I don’t hear anyone even bringing up his name.”

Bernie Sanders has endorsed both Randy Bryce in Wisconsin and Ben Jealous in Maryland for Congress this year, and his lack of endorsement to his son raises eyebrows. Some speculate that he may want to disassociate from his son’s losing campaign should Bernie Sanders run for president in 2020, according to reports by Vox.

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