Sen. Bernie Sanders has endorsed Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman’s bid for governor in Vermont’s three-way Democratic primary contest.
The Zuckerman campaign announced Sanders had officially thrown his support behind the Progressive Democrat in a press release Monday.
“I am proud to endorse David,” Sanders said in the statement.
“David has been fighting for all Vermonters for over 25 years. He has worked to raise the minimum wage, fought for workers’ rights, led the passage of marriage equality and championed climate legislation,” he said.
Sanders’ decision to wade into Vermont’s Democratic primary for governor comes after Molly Gray, an assistant attorney general running for lieutenant governor, touted Sunday that she had the support of Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., in her competitive four-way contest.
Thank you @WelchForVT for your mentorship over the years and for your support of my candidacy. #vtpoli pic.twitter.com/Ac640oaxHf
— Molly Gray (@mollyforvermont) July 26, 2020
Welch has not formally endorsed Gray.
Sanders’ endorsement comes 15 days before the Aug. 11 primary. Tens of thousands of Vermonters have already requested absentee ballots.
Zuckerman, who volunteered for Sanders in the 1990s, has consistently aligned himself with the Vermont independent throughout his political career. He considers Sanders his political mentor.
In 2016 when Sanders was running for president, he endorsed Zuckerman in his first lieutenant gubernatorial run. The Vermont independent publicly supported the candidate again in 2018 during Zuckerman’s reelection effort.
“I am honored to receive Bernie’s endorsement in my race for Governor. I was first inspired to run by him over two decades ago and I continue to be inspired by the work he has done to bring people together behind a progressive vision for our state and country,” Zuckerman said in a statement Monday.
A number of high profile Sanders surrogates — including California Rep. Ro Khanna; Nina Turner; San Juan, Puerto Rico Mayor Carmen Yulin; and Ben Cohen — had already endorsed Zuckerman earlier in the campaign.
The Democratic primary for governor has seen Zuckerman square off against former education secretary Rebecca Holcombe, Bennington lawyer Patrick Winburn, and activist Ralph Corbo.
Holcombe has received endorsements from former Gov. Madeleine Kunin and from two dozen former and current state lawmakers as well as EMILY’s List — a national political organization that aims to elect pro-choice women.
The former education secretary, who has been actively campaigning for more than a year, has successfully fundraised — bringing in more than $480,000 and beginning the month with more than $100,000 cash on hand, according to the most recent campaign finance filings.
However, Zuckerman raised more money than Holcombe during the second quarter of 2020 as the two candidates have attempted to show voters on which issues they differ.
Holcombe has repeatedly attacked Zuckerman for initially opposing in 2015 the removal of a philosophical exemption to vaccination.
Last week, Holcombe released a television advertisement in which she stated that the lieutenant governor “questioned the science behind vaccines” and that those opposed to vaccines “call him their hero.”
Zuckerman has stated again and again that Holcombe is misrepresenting his record and that he believes the science behind vaccination is sound.