Bernie Sanders' son, Levi, is running for Congress in New Hampshire but hasn't gotten a public endorsement from his father, and the omission is raising eyebrows among political insiders.
The younger Sanders announced his bid for Congress as a Democrat in a crowded field that includes nine Democrats and three Republicans vying for the 1st District seat currently occupied by U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, a Democrat who is not seeking re-election.
"Levi has spent his life in service to low income and working families, and I am very proud of all that he has done," Bernie Sanders said in a statement to the Boston Globe. "In our family, however, we do not believe in dynastic politics. Levi is running his own campaign in his own way."
But the statement hasn't satisfied everyone. Some speculate that the Vermont senator and former presidential candidate is trying to distance himself from what some have called an "inept campaign," the Globe noted.
"Nobody I know is really considering Levi as an option," former state senator Burt Cohen told the Globe. "No, it’s actually worse than that: I don’t hear anyone even bringing up his name. People aren’t sure why he is running."
The younger Sanders, 49, doesn't live in the district he's running to represent, and he has limited political experience including a failed bid for Claremont City Council eight years ago, the Globe noted. He also has raised little funding ($11,500 by March 31, compared with nearly $1 million raised by one of his opponents).
Levi Sanders told The Independent he is running to work for low-income, working-class Americans.
"It's not about the fact that I am Bernie Sanders' son — sure, obviously, that is more interesting — but the real issue is every day I get to see the economic pain that people are under," he said.
Like his father, he didn't pull any punches in criticizing the Democratic Party.
"The Democratic Party has done a very poor job of bolstering people’s confidence and self-esteem, and that has significant consequences when it comes to reaching out to low-income and working-class people," he said, according to The Independent.
"When Hillary Clinton used the word 'deplorable' that had a significant effect on so many people. They basically said, 'We understand that Donald Trump is not a nice guy, but he is one of us.' He said, 'Yes, I know I’m a billionaire, but I’m like your weird uncle. I’m not politically correct and I’m not judging you and that's the key.'"
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