Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has endorsed over 70 candidates this election cycle, is facing heat for propping up disgraced ex-Senate candidate Graham Platner — among a string of other radical, dark-horse candidates.
The self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, who has called his far-left movement a “revolution,” had been one of Platner’s most vocal supporters, asserting that he would “do everything I can to make sure that Graham Platner is the next senator from the state of Maine.” Sanders, true to his word, attended campaign events and advocated fiercely for Platner on social media despite a series of scandals about Platner’s past.
But that was before Tuesday.
Less than 24 hours after Politico published a bombshell report on Monday detailing how Platner allegedly raped his then-girlfriend in 2021, Sanders joined many of his Democratic colleagues and called for Platner to step aside.
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To Rachel Bade, a political commentator and longtime political reporter, it’s a moment that is stress-testing Sanders’ continued influence in the party.
“The Graham Platner fiasco was bad, yes. But now, some Dems are tallying up everywhere else Sanders and his orbit bet wrong this cycle, raising questions about their judgment in elevating untested, unvetted candidates with skeletons nobody bothered to check for,” Bade wrote in a post to X.
In addition to Platner, Sanders has also endorsed several other candidates who have sparked political controversy over troubling details in their past.
Adam Hamawy, who has past ties to a convicted terrorist who was convicted of seditious conspiracy linked to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, won a Democratic primary with Sanders’ endorsement, calling him one of the party’s “bold leaders.” Sheikh Abdel-Rahman, who died in prison at the federal detention center in Butner, North Carolina, in 2017, was nicknamed the “Blind Sheikh.”
Similarly, Melat Kiros, a socialist and political newcomer in Colorado, defeated a 30-year incumbent in a primary challenge with Sanders’ backing despite her assertions that American foreign policy had made the 9/11 terror attacks “inevitable.” Sanders endorsed her with a prediction that she would be a “great ally in Congress fighting for a progressive agenda.”
And Randy Villegas, another congressional candidate supported by Sanders in California, is also facing scrutiny as news broke that he had voted to approve confidential settlements related to decades-old child sex-abuse cases as a teacher.
“We must do everything we can to elect new, bold leaders like Randy who will be a champion for working Americans in Congress,” Sanders said.
He is also backing Cori Bush, who came under fire for previously paying her husband with campaign cash and previously being one of the most vocal defund the police supporters in Congress, as she pursues a comeback House bid.
To some Democrats, the list is frustrating and, amid Platner’s fallout, seems risky.
“So, I don’t know why you want to keep pushing these kinds of people,” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said of Sanders in an interview with Fox News. “Maybe he should consider sitting a few out and stop pushing these kinds of communists.”
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Sanders’ list doesn’t just extend to this cycle.
In a 2018 endorsement, Sanders endorsed Andrew Gillum, a former candidate for Florida governor, saying he would “work to provide healthcare for all through a Medicaid-for-All program, raise the minimum wage, invest in sustainable energy.” While he narrowly lost to Gov. Ron DeSantis, he went on to have at least a couple scandals, including a recent arrest on drug-related charges in Alabama and a highly publicized incident in a Miami Beach hotel room involving a medical emergency and illicit substances.
Similarly, Cenk Uygur, the founder of the Young Turks and the uncle of controversial streamer Hasan Piker, faced backlash in 2019 when an online footprint laced with racist material surfaced, prompting Sanders to rescind his endorsement that he would “serve ordinary people, not powerful special interests” and that “he is a voice that we desperately need in Congress.”
He has also backed multiple “Squad” members, including Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who have both been accused of antisemitism and have an anti-Israel and defund the police track record. Tlaib recently came under fire for being outraged over the prison sentences of accused Antifa cell members sentenced to decades in prison for a violent attack on a Texas immigration facility that federal prosecutors called an act of terrorism. Tlaib called the sentences a “travesty and totally unjustified.”
To some onlookers like Shannon Watts, a gun-control advocate and political commentator, Sanders’ apparent willingness to pursue candidates who champion his preferred policies has led him to overlook character flaws that threaten their viability.
“A reminder that Bernie Sanders also endorsed another candidate who mocked sexual assault, failed Utah House Dem candidate Nate Blouin,” Watts said in a post to X this week, referring to yet another one of Sanders’ endorsements in 2026, who lost his primary earlier this year.
“It’s almost like there’s a pattern,” she added.
Natalie Baldassarre, national press secretary at the Republican National Committee, echoed Watts’ thinking.
“Whether it’s alleged rapist Graham Platner, anti-cop Abdul El-Sayed, or ‘trans kid lover’ James Talarico, Bernie Sanders’ clown car of unvetted and untested candidates is showing the American people just how unfit they are for public office,” Baldassarre said.
In the 2026 midterm cycle, Sanders has endorsed 19 candidates at the federal level. Of those, nine have not held office.
He has also endorsed another 54 candidates in state and local races — far more endorsements than fellow progressives Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.
Baldassarre believes more of Sanders’ candidates require scrutiny.
“We will continue to expose these candidates for who they are — radical socialists who will push their extreme ideology and strip every American of their safety, sanity and freedom,” Baldassarre said.
To Bade, the next test of Sanders’ influence will come in early August as Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive doctor, takes on Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., in a primary to become the Democratic nominee to the U.S. Senate. In the past, El-Sayed has called for defunding the police, abolishing ICE and called for universal healthcare — positions in line with Sanders’ thinking.
“All eyes now turn to the August 4 Michigan Senate primary, where Sanders has endorsed progressive Abdul El-Sayed over centrist Rep. Haley Stevens who has Chuck Schumer behind her,” Bade said in a recent Substack article.
Sanders did not respond to requests for comment on his endorsement track record.
