Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said the impact of money from billionaires on the midterms was “disgusting,” and is not getting enough attention.
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine published Tuesday, Sanders noted how Summer Lee, a Progressive Democrat he campaigned for, faced massive spending from a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Lee defeated her Republican opponent Mike Doyle in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District race last week to replace the district’s retiring Democratic representative, also named Mike Doyle. Lee’s victory made her the first Black woman elected to Congress in her state.
“One of the other factors not talked about, I think, enough is the degree to which billionaire money impacted this election. It’s disgusting,” Sanders told Rolling Stone.
“As I mentioned, I was in Pittsburgh with Summer Lee. She had to run against millions of dollars of AIPAC super PAC money coming in the last couple of weeks, and she ended up beating it back,” the 81-year-old lawmaker added. “This is a major, major problem.”
Sanders also told Rolling Stone that the Democratic Party needs to continue to prioritize issues such as abortion rights and inflation in the next two years to show that it is fighting for the working class.
“So I think in the next few years, the Democrats have got to stand up for the working class in this country, which is being battered. Inflation is hurting people today. Working people are making less in real inflation adjusted dollars than they made 50 years ago,” Sanders said.
“Can you believe it? I mean, unbelievable, despite the huge increase in worker productivity. So I think our focus has got to be to take on the greed of the one percent and the CEOs in the corporate world and create an economy that works for all, not just a few. I don’t surprise you by saying that, right?” he added.
Democrats scored unexpected victories in key battleground states in last week’s midterm elections, keeping control of the Senate, flipping the governor’s office in states including Arizona, and keeping GOP gains in the House well below an expected “red wave.”
Progressives also scored a number of wins in the House and Senate, expanding their ranks on Capitol Hill and inspiring confidence about future plans.