Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has endorsed three Democratic candidates in high-profile races over the last week, including a Wisconsin politician running for House in the state’s 3rd Congressional District.

Sanders announced his endorsement of Rebecca Cooke, who lost to Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) in the 2024 election by less than 3 percentage points. Cooke will be challenging the GOP incumbent again in the 2026 midterm cycle. In April, the Cook Political Report changed its rating for the 2026 House race in that district from “lean Republican” to “toss-up.”

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“Rebecca is a working class fighter who developed her populist roots in rural Western Wisconsin,” Sanders said in a statement about the endorsement, which NBC News reported. “A daughter of farmers, a waitress and a small business owner — she’s lived through failed policies from Washington elites and is ready to deliver tangible outcomes that working people will actually feel.”

In November 2024, President Donald Trump beat former Vice President Kamala Harris by 7 points in the district that Cooke is aiming to take from Van Orden.

When she announced her campaign in March, Cooke cast herself as a “farm kid” and a voice for the working class. Sanders echoed similar language in his Thursday endorsement.

“She will be an ally to me in the House as she works to enforce antitrust laws against corporate monopolies that have bankrupted family farms like hers, raise the federal minimum wage to a living wage and expand Medicare to cover vision, dental and hearing,” he said.

The progressive Vermont senator is weighing in on a series of races, both congressional and otherwise.

On Tuesday, Sanders put his support behind Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney, who is seeking to oust Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) from his seat in the state’s 13th Congressional District. Sanders was the second member of Congress to endorse McKinney over Thanedar, following Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-MI) announcement last month.

The two-time Democratic presidential candidate is also supporting Troy Jackson, Maine’s former state Senate president, who is running for governor, and Abdul El Sayed, a former Michigan public health official who is running for the state’s open Senate seat. El Sayed previously ran for governor, losing to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) in the 2018 primary.

IT’S NOT BERNIE SANDERS’S VERMONT ANYMORE

Earlier this week, Sanders endorsed New York state Rep. Zohran Mamdani, a socialist contender in next week’s New York mayoral primary race. Mamdani “is the best choice for NYC mayor” because he will “stand up to powerful corporate interests & fight for the working class,” Sanders said.

Mamdani remains in second place in new polling behind former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is seeking a political redemption following his 2021 resignation in response to an impeachment investigation and sexual assault allegations. The Democratic primary is set to be held on Tuesday.