[T]hanks to a pitch from Sen. Bernie Sanders, a candidate from Chittenden County got a $60,000 boost last week.
In an email to supporters from around the country on Tuesday, Sanders highlighted Chris Pearson’s bid for state Senate. By Friday, 12,000 people had sent small donations (most gifts were in the $5 range) to the representative from Burlington, according to a press release.
Pearson, who announced his candidacy for the state Senate as a Democrat on Monday, said in a statement he was surprised to get a call from his former boss about the email and was even more “stunned” by an outpouring of support from people around the country. Pearson has served four terms in the Vermont House of Representatives as a Progressive.
There are two open Chittenden County seats in the state Senate out of a total of six. Sen. Diane Snelling retired to become the chair of the Natural Resources Board and Sen. David Zuckerman is running for lieutenant governor.
The Democratic primary race will be highly competitive with seven candidates, including Pearson, Nick Cook, Faisal Gill, Louis Meyers and David Scherr, all first timers, and Debbie Ingram and Dawn Ellis, both previous primary candidates, and four incumbents, Michael Sirotkin, Tim Ashe, Phil Baruth and Ginny Lyons. A 12th candidate, John Gifford, is a Republican and does not face a primary.
Sanders described Pearson to supporters as “a champion on the issues of livable wages, strong labor union advocacy, climate change, and voting rights.”
In his bid for president, Sanders has raised $212 million from 2.4 million small donors over the past year.
The Vermont senator is now using his clout with contributors to promote other candidates, including former Wisconsin senator Russ Feingold who is running for his old seat, and congressional candidates including former New York gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout, Washington state Sen. Pramil Jayapal and Nevada state assemblywoman Lucy Flores.
He is also backing Tim Canova in a Florida congressional primary as a challenger against Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who also serves as the head of the Democratic National Committee. Sanders has been at odds with Schultz over the debate schedule, fundraising and other party affairs that his campaign says shows favoritism to Hillary Clinton, his rival in the presidential primary.
Correction: Dawn Ellis and Debbie Ingram previously have run in and won state Senate primaries and lost in the general election.
