The Democratic Socialists of America may throw its support behind Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as he tries for the presidency again.
In an email sent to chapter members on Wednesday, the DSA laid out how the organization would decide on a possible endorsement, according to Buzzfeed News. Though many candidates in the 2020 Democratic field have embraced progressive policies supported by the party, the only candidate in the running for its endorsement is said to be Sanders.
“DSA could play an important role in supporting Sanders — both by helping Sanders win the Democratic Party primary and go on to defeat Trump in the general election, and by growing DSA as a serious, independent, socialist pole in the broader Sanders movement,” the email said.
Sanders officially announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party presidential nomination Tuesday.
The group wants state and local chapters to discuss a Sanders endorsement, feeling the need to get involved in the campaign “as early as possible.” Some chapters have already voiced their support of a possible endorsement.
Any support would come as grassroots activism, educating voters on some of the key planks of Sanders’ campaign, such as “Medicare for All.”
“If we do launch this campaign, it will be movement centered,” DSA director Maria Svart said last week. “Our power comes from an organized working class, and we can express that power in communities. It’s a reflection of a strategy and theory of change. In everything that we do, we center the movement and policies we want to fight for.”
This wouldn’t be the first time the party has worked in support of Sanders. It mobilized grassroots efforts early in the 2016 presidential cycle urging Sanders to make a run. After Sanders was defeated by Hillary Clinton, the group issued a statement rebuking Donald Trump’s candidacy but fell short of endorsing his Democratic rival.
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