Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is in the hot seat for his previous support of Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner, with some Democrats arguing the Vermont independent helped elevate a deeply flawed candidate in a must-win race.
Criticism mounted this week as party voices dinged Sanders’s judgment and the broader influence of the liberal wing in candidate recruitment following the publication of sexual assault allegations against the Maine progressive that led to him suspending his campaign on Wednesday.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) delivered one of the most forceful rebukes, arguing Sanders bears significant responsibility for Platner’s campaign.
“Bernie Sanders needs to apologize to the voters of Maine and to everyone that donated to that train wreck of a campaign,” Fetterman said during an appearance on Fox News Wednesday.
Fetterman went on to say that Sanders pushed Platner into the race “more than anyone” else did.
“And now he keeps pushing these communists and these kind of awful anti-American people,” Fetterman continued. “There’s plenty of those people that have to humble themselves — humble yourself, and stop pushing these kinds of people on people in my party.”
Fetterman’s comments underscore a growing frustration among centrist Democrats who see the party’s left flank as out of step with the broader electorate, particularly in competitive races where candidate quality and messaging can determine control of the Senate.
Sanders was an early supporter of Platner’s campaign and was his highest-profile endorsement. The senator pulled his endorsement of Platner a day after Jenny Racicot, 41, who was in an on-and-off relationship for two years with Platner, said that Platner entered her home while drunk and forced himself onto her five years ago. Platner has denied the allegations.
The Vermont senator’s withdrawal of support came after he stood by Platner despite a litany of scandals, including his since-covered Nazi tattoo, sexually explicit text messages, and controversial Reddit posts.
Michael LaRosa, a Democratic strategist and former spokesperson for former first lady Jill Biden, placed blame squarely on progressive leaders, including Sanders, for boosting Platner despite early concerns, and said those figures owe Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, which originally supported Maine Gov. Janet Mills, an “apology.”
“Smart and effective leaders try to prevent a problem before everyone else realizes there is one,” LaRosa said in a post on X. “Schumer and the DSCC were trying to protect the coalition and keep the focus on winning elections. The activist left, and progressive media echo system dismissed those concerns—and today we’re seeing why they mattered.”
The criticism highlights a broader ideological and strategic divide within the Democratic Party, as Democrats argue that leftist candidates could hurt the party’s chances of winning in November.
Jim Kessler, a former Schumer staffer and executive vice president of policy at the center-left Third Way, told the Washington Examiner that Sanders’s support for Platner was a “shocking lapse in judgment.”
But Kessler argued that Sanders ultimately “doesn’t really care about winning; he cares about fighting” and referred to him as a “chaos agent.”
“If he sees a fire, he wants to put fuel on it, he doesn’t want to put it out. That’s his style of politics, and that has served him for most of his career, and so for Sanders, you know, another flame out from a candidate who had no business running for higher office, he’ll just shrug it off and move on,” Kessler said. “I think it’s more damaging for some other people who supported Platner.”
Sanders, who has long been a kingmaker on the Left, has used his national profile to elevate insurgent candidates and reshape the party’s priorities. But the fallout from the Platner campaign is likely to raise new questions about the vetting process for candidates backed by high-profile progressives.
Former congressional candidate for Maine’s 2nd District Joe Baldacci, who noted he respects Sanders, told the Washington Examiner that political operatives and supporters will likely increase candidate scrutiny in the future, which he said is “not a bad thing at all.”
“It’s a good thing, I think,” Baldacci continued. “Everybody will do that, not just the Sanders people, but really, this is a personal, tragic personal story.”
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Still, Baldacci said the responsibility ultimately rests with Platner himself.
“The responsibility really lies with [Platner], and not with Sanders, or the progressives, or the voters that voted for him,” Baldacci told the Washington Examiner.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Sanders and Platner for comment.