Bernie Sanders dives into a key House battleground Trump carried in 2024 with a new endorsement

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., connected Thursday announced his endorsement of Democrat Rebecca Cooke for Congress successful Wisconsin’s 3rd District — making a foray into 1 of a fistful of districts that could determine the adjacent House majority, which President Donald Trump carried by 7 points little than a twelvemonth ago.

“Rebecca is simply a moving people combatant who developed her populist roots successful agrarian Western Wisconsin. A girl of farmers, a waitress and a tiny concern proprietor — she’s lived done failed policies from Washington elites and is acceptable to present tangible outcomes that moving radical volition really feel,” Sanders said successful a connection shared archetypal with NBC News.

Sanders’ endorsement brings renewed nationalist attraction to a contention that Cooke mislaid by less than 3 percent points past twelvemonth as GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden earned a 2nd term. And it besides highlights a notable cross-section of enactment for Cooke — who has besides been endorsed by the Blue Dog Democrats' PAC, a longtime protagonist of enactment moderates — arsenic Democrats successful Washington and astir the state reappraisal the party's argumentation platforms, personalities and coalitions aft they suffered decision to Trump successful the 2024 election.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., astatine a quality league astatine the U.S. Capitol connected Jan. 25, 2024.Kent Nishimura / Bloomberg via Getty Images file

Cooke said successful an interrogation that Sanders’ endorsement meant a batch to her due to the fact that “Bernie truly is nary bulls---.”

“He’s been capable to walk authorities successful the fray of Washington portion remaining truly existent to his halfway values that halfway astir the moving class, and his dependable has ne'er truly wavered,” she said.

Cooke said she voted for Sanders successful the 2016 Democratic statesmanlike superior and has valued his authenticity ever since.

“Why wouldn’t I question enactment from idiosyncratic similar that successful an era, benignant of, wherever thing feels authentic, erstwhile Bernie truly is?” she added.

Last year, Cooke campaigned connected a connection focused mostly connected the system and ran up of Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin successful her district. She besides ran with the enactment of the New Democrat Coalition and Blue Dog Democrats, 2 groups of mean legislature Democrats who tout their enactment for bipartisanship and moving crossed the aisle. The Blue Dog PAC endorsed her again this month.

Sanders followers and immoderate Blue Dog types person clashed implicit the years implicit argumentation and the absorption of the Democratic Party. Cooke acknowledged that “it could look surprising, you know, to invited an endorsement similar that from Senator Sanders.”

“But I truly deliberation that it’s important that we fto spell of purity tests successful authorities and that we enactment disciplined connected creating predetermination wins,” she said, adding that successful her run she hopes to shed the labels of “moderate” oregon “progressive” and summation enactment from a wide basal of voters.

“I americium a Blue Dog and a caller Dem, but I’m besides precise progressive wherever it counts,” Cooke said. “I don’t similar the labels and the boxes that benignant of person been created, due to the fact that immediately, you know, you’re written disconnected and ‘othered’ successful your enactment due to the fact that you’re this oregon due to the fact that you’re that. And really, I’m conscionable — I’m moving due to the fact that I’m for occidental Wisconsin, period.”

The nationalist stakes

Democrats request a nett summation of astatine slightest 3 districts to retake a bulk successful the House successful 2026. And Wisconsin’s 3rd District is expected to beryllium highly competitory again successful 2026. It's 1 of conscionable 9 Republican-held House seats rated arsenic toss-ups by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.

As Cooke welcomes Sanders' enactment successful a territory Trump has carried 3 times, aft Barack Obama and different Democratic statesmanlike nominees carried it successful erstwhile elections, the Democratic Party is grappling with however to determination guardant from the 2024 election.

Some Democrats — similar Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts — person said Democrats alienated immoderate voters successful caller years by insisting that candidates hold with definite socially progressive norms and usage “woke” connection that not each voters understand.

“We person to, you know, discontinue demonizing radical on the governmental spectrum. Otherwise we’re, we’re ne'er going to get there. We’re ne'er going to execute the things that we privation to get done," Cooke said.

Sanders, who ran for the Democratic statesmanlike information successful 2016 and 2020, kicked disconnected a nationwide “Fighting Oligarchy” circuit this year, rallying with voters crossed the state and urging Democrats to combat Trump and his allies and to perceive to voters’ concerns astir the economy.

Sanders made several stops successful Wisconsin, including successful Eau Claire County, which is successful the 3rd District.

Sanders' endorsement connection praised Cooke arsenic a imaginable "partner successful Congress" who shares his extremity of "building opportunities for the moving class."

"She volition beryllium an state to maine successful the House arsenic she works to enforce antitrust laws against firm monopolies that person bankrupted household farms similar hers, rise the national minimum wage to a surviving wage and grow Medicare to screen vision, dental and hearing," Sanders said successful the statement.

He has already thrown his enactment down respective different candidates successful the 2026 midterm elections. They include Maine’s erstwhile state Senate president Troy Jackson, who is moving for governor; Michigan Senate campaigner Abdul El-Sayed; and Michigan authorities Rep. Donavan McKinney, who is challenging Rep. Shri Thanedar successful the Democratic superior successful a Detroit-area district.

On Monday, Sanders besides backed New York authorities Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in next week’s New York mayoral primary.