Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) may have officially endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, after losing to the centrist in a bitterly-contested primary, but the senator is hoping to keep his “political revolution” alive.
Sanders has started a “social welfare” 501(c)(4) advocacy organization, to support progressive groups seeking to coach and vet those who want to run for office. He touted the group, called “Our Revolution,” in an email sent to supporters earlier this week.
“The goal of this organization will be no different from the goal of our campaign: we must transform American politics to make our political and economic systems once again responsive to the needs of working families,” Sanders said.
In turning his campaign into a 501(c)(4), Sanders would be following in the footsteps of Democrats before him. Most notably, President Obama, used his campaign apparatus to create Organizing for Action; a group that supported his agenda.
Earlier this month, Sanders said he was moved, in part, to launch Our Revolution by “Democrats’ loss of about 900 state legislative seats in nearly eight years,” as USA Today reported.
He told the paper the group would seek to support races ranging from school board contests to Congressional elections. Sanders also said that candidates needn’t be Democrats, as long as they’re progressive.
“If you have some strong independents who would like to run, it would be my inclination to support them,” he said. The senator noted that he particularly wants to involve young people and the working class.
During the primary, Sanders demonstrated that his network already has impressive fundraising prowess, as CNBC has reported. Two weeks after sending out an email touting Chris Pearson, a Vermont state senate candidate, Sanders campaign’ reported that Pearson received 10,000 donations and that his campaign was fully-funded for the rest of the year.
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