Democrats are becoming Berniecrats

Opinion>Opinions - Campaign The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill Democrats are becoming Berniecrats Comments: by Merrill Matthews, opinion contributor - 06/23/26 8:00 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Merrill Matthews, opinion contributor - 06/23/26 8:00 AM ET Comments: Link copied

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, right, gestures on stage with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., during a Get Out The Vote rally ahead of New York’s primary election, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is having a moment. Not long ago he was a political outlier and something of an elected gadfly — a self-proclaimed socialist in a Democratic Party that wasn’t comfortable with socialism. No more.

Sanders and his socialist ideas are increasingly the driving force in today’s Democratic Party, especially among younger Democrats.

Traditional, left-leaning Democrats are becoming increasingly irrelevant. They aren’t leaving the party — the party is leaving them, as Sanders’s followers rack up political wins across the country.

Sanders was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1991. He then won a Senate seat in 2007. Although he identifies as an independent, he caucuses with Democrats and holds Democratic committee positions.

Sanders’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 was initially considered a longshot, yet he won 23 primaries and caucuses, coming in second to Hillary Clinton with 46 percent of the overall vote.

He ran again in 2020, after signing a loyalty pledge to the Democratic Party. He did well and was even considered the frontrunner by some media outlets in the spring of 2020. But the Democratic establishment grew concerned Sanders might win the nomination and fell in behind Joe Biden for the South Carolina primary. Biden’s win in the Palmetto State changed the trajectory of the Democratic primaries, putting Biden on the path to win the nomination.

Sanders will be 87 years old at the next presidential election in 2028. He is too old to be the king, but not too old to be a kingmaker. Progressive candidates are reaching out to him in the hope of getting a Sanders endorsement. Think of it as the progressive equivalent of a President Trump endorsement for a MAGA candidate.

Politico recently highlighted the string of progressive wins by Sanders-backed candidates in Democratic primaries. The senator’s “endorsed candidates cleaned house on Tuesday, a coast-to-coast show of force headlined by a resounding win for his embattled Senate pick in Maine, Graham Platner.” Apparently, if a very flawed candidate like Platner spouts progressive polices, all other sins can be forgiven.

Progressive candidates for federal, state or local offices believe a Sanders endorsement can make the difference, and they might be right. Politico adds, “The senator’s support has been instrumental in powering unknown candidates to major wins this cycle.”

Sanders’s website even has a list of candidates he has endorsed. That includes 20 new candidates running in U.S. House and Senate races and 69 candidates running in state and local elections.

Sanders’s endorsement page does not include progressive House and Senate incumbents — such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and others in the so-called Squad — who are already politically and philosophically aligned. And he regularly joins forces with some of them, especially Ocasio-Cortez, for rallies and speaking tours around the country, including red states. The Associated Press writes, “Sanders’s insurgent presidential campaigns put a new face and brand on socialism, Sanders is attracting massive crowds with a ‘fighting oligarchy’ tour pushing Democrats to embrace his ideas as they search for a path back to viability.”

And Democrats appear to be listening. According to a September 2025 Gallup poll, they now view socialism “more positively than capitalism — 66 percent to 42 percent, respectively.” Republicans, meanwhile, prefer capitalism, 74 percent to 14 percent.

One reason for the growing embrace of socialism is Democrats’ increasingly negative view of big business. Gallup notes that 36 percent of independents and 17 percent of Democrats “rate big business positively,” both of which are new lows.

And although 60 percent of Republicans rate big business positively, there is a vocal group of Republicans and self-described conservatives who have become very critical of big business, especially the tech and pharmaceutical industries.

As the progressive movement elevates Sanders, its advocates are aligning around his agenda. They want to raise taxes on the wealthy, whether through higher income taxes or, increasingly, new taxes on wealth. They want to redistribute even more wealth and impose more regulations on business. And they want a government-run, universal health care system paid for with higher taxes.

And there are two non-negotiable demands: opposition to Israel — even demanding Democratic candidates condemn Israel’s “genocide” of Palestinians — and the denunciation of billionaires.

It is unclear whether more traditional Democrats — such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro or former Obama White House chief of staff and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel — can keep the party from drifting too far to the left. But they have their work cut out for them.

Back in 1948, pro-segregationist Democrats splintered from the Democratic Party to form the Dixiecrats, which won four states in that year’s presidential election. Could we see another split in the 2028 presidential election as Berniecrats try to drive the Democratic agenda?

Merrill Matthews is the Texas state chair of Our Republican Legacy.