Some Republican lawmakers are hoping Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., emerges as the Democrats' nominee for president in 2020, Politico is reporting.
They are convinced Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, won’t be able to defeat President Donald Trump in the general election and will lead some other Democrats on the ballot to defeat.
“It would be good for us to have a nominee like that,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is up for re-election in 2020.
And Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said: “If we can run a race against a person that’s an out-of-the-closet socialist and promoting socialist ideas, it’s a great contrast for us.”
But Politico noted Republicans could be making the same mistake by discounting Sanders’ chances as Democrats did with Trump in 2020.
“I would suggest they underestimate me at their own peril and I hope they do,” Sanders said. "Republicans are unlikely to run on their own forward-leaning agenda. So they have to figure out some boogeyman that they think they can run against.”
Meanwhile, most recent polls show former Vice President Joe Biden leading Sanders. And Politico noted Biden is generally regarded as a centrist.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is up for re-election next year, said if he can campaign against Sanders, he can cast his own race as "a referendum between free enterprise and socialism."