Sanders declining to help son in race fits pattern
MONTPELIER, Vt. — An endorsement by Bernie Sanders is one of the most coveted gifts in Democratic politics. But the Vermont senator and liberal darling is notoriously reluctant to back many politicians, including, it turns out, his own son.
Sanders has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for not publicly endorsing his son, Levi, in his race for a New Hampshire congressional seat. But people who know him say Sanders, a potential top-tier contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, has always been stingy with endorsements and that parsimoniousness is extending to his own family.
Going back to the mid-1980s, when Sanders declined to do more to help what has evolved into Vermont’s Progressive Party, to last winter when Sanders declined to help his step-daughter run for the mayor’s office he once held, Sanders has frustrated many by his refusal to help.
But that took on additional weight when it was noticed that, despite his crisscrossing the country endorsing liberal candidates, Sanders has declined to get actively involved in his 49-year-old son’s race. Levi Sanders, a legal services analyst, is now one of 11 seeking the Democratic nomination to fill the seat held by retiring U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter.
It’s hard to square the non-endorsement, especially for the political movement he helped create in Vermont, said University of Vermont political science professor emeritus Garrison Nelson, who has watched Sanders’ political career for decades.
“This is a fancy dance that Bernie has done, but it’s not recommended for anyone else,” said Nelson. “This is a testament to Bernie’s uniqueness as a political actor.”
When asked about his son’s run for Congress, Sanders has said he doesn’t like “dynastic politics,” and although he’s proud of the work Levi Sanders has done, “he’s on his own.”
Sanders’ 2018 senate reelection campaign declined to answer further questions about the issue.
For his part, Levi Sanders has joked that rather than being Bernie Sanders’ son, he is the son of the fourth cousin of Larry David, creator of “Seinfeld” and Bernie Sanders’ portrayer on “SNL.” But since attention was focused on his political relationship with his father, Levi Sanders has also gone quiet.
Levi Sanders is portraying himself as a progressive campaigning for tuitionfree college, health care for all and sensible gun legislation.