The Democratic Socialists of America announced Friday its decision to endorse Sen. Bernard Sanders for president, calling him “the only socialist in American history with a serious chance of winning the presidency.”
The DSA said its national political committee voted Thursday night to back the Vermont senator in the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. The group also plans to launch an independent campaign to elect Mr. Sanders and “advance a class-struggle agenda.”
“Sanders is the only democratic socialist running for president in 2020, and the only socialist in American history with a serious chance of winning the presidency,” the DSA said. “Sanders’s platform — Green New Deal, Medicare for All, College for All, ending cash bail, strengthening unions, and a living wage — would transform American society by ending the worst forms of poverty and inequality while empowering workers to fight for even more.”
Polls show Mr. Sanders trailing only former Vice President Joseph R. Biden in hypothetical contests for the party’s presidential nod, ahead of another dozen candidates eager to take on President Trump in 2020. Mr. Biden has not yet declared whether he will run.
“Bernie Sanders is part of an incredible revival of resistance to billionaires and their corporations,” said Maria Svart, DSA national director. “Democratic socialists are proud to join with Sanders, his millions of supporters, teachers and other workers on strike across the U.S., and students protesting climate change across the world in fighting for a society that puts people over profit.”
Mr. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, said “a war is being waged against the working people in America,” a theme of his campaign, in a Wednesday speech to a crowd of striking workers at UCLA.
With 56,000 members, the DSA has seen its national profile rise with the election last year of two group members to Congress, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. Both are also Democratic Party members.
Democratic Socialists of America is proud to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders for president! We’re building a mass movement to take on the billionaires and win a society that puts people over profit. Join us https://t.co/Gsy5Ij2G2K pic.twitter.com/66DHY9hqyk
— DSA (@DemSocialists) March 22, 2019
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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