{"id":47932,"date":"2026-04-28T11:26:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:26:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=47932"},"modified":"2026-04-28T11:26:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:26:56","slug":"bernie-sanders-leads-senators-in-demand-to-end-super-pacs-in-democratic-primaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/04\/28\/bernie-sanders-leads-senators-in-demand-to-end-super-pacs-in-democratic-primaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Bernie Sanders Leads Senators in Demand to End Super PACs in Democratic Primaries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"US-POLITICS-SENATE-HHS\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on April 22, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo by Saul Loeb\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cannot allow unlimited outside spending to distort our elections or drown out the voices of working people.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Prager<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apr 27, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a> is leading a coalition of Democratic senators pushing for the party\u2019s leaders to require candidates to swear off billionaire- and corporate-backed super PACs<\/a>, or political action committees, in this year\u2019s primary elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sens. Jeff Merkley<\/a> (D-Ore.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren<\/a> (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined the independent senator from Vermont<\/a> to send a letter<\/a> to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer<\/a> (D-NY) and Democratic National Committee<\/a> (DNC<\/a>) Chair Ken Martin on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bernie<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DNC Half-Measures Condemning Dark Money Won\u2019t Cut It, Says Sanders as He Demands Total Ban<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mike Johnson to Unleash \u2018Catastrophic\u2019 Attack on Endangered Species Act<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Five of the senators are members of a group of Senate Democrats known<\/a> as the \u201cFight Club\u201d that has formed to oppose Schumer\u2019s preferred candidates in contested Democratic primaries, many of whom are closely aligned with the party\u2019s traditional corporate backers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the senators applauded the DNC\u2019s resolution last month broadly condemning<\/a> the influence of dark money<\/a> in party elections, calling it an \u201cimportant first step,\u201d they said Democratic leaders needed to take more \u201cconcrete steps to curb the influence of dark money,\u201d particularly the artificial intelligence<\/a> and cryptocurrency industries and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCorporate-funded super PACs are shaping the 2026 elections as we speak, and the scale of their resources is unprecedented,\u201d the senators said. \u201cCrypto-aligned groups are preparing to spend $200 million, and AIPAC-affiliated groups already control more than $90 million. The AI industry has already spent over $185 million this year alone. These sums are being deployed to influence Democratic primaries and overwhelm candidates who rely on grassroots support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April\u2019s broad anti-dark money resolution was passed by the DNC in lieu of one that directly singled out<\/a> \u201cthe growing influence\u201d of AIPAC<\/a>, specifically over its more than $100 million spending blitz<\/a> in 2024 to oust progressive candidates. Despite a dramatic shift toward opposition<\/a> to Israel among Democratic voters over the past three years, that resolution was voted down by a DNC panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AIPAC continues to dump massive amounts of money behind its preferred candidates. The senators\u2019 letter notes that \u201cin Illinois alone, outside groups spent over $50 million in recent Democratic primaries.\u201d Nearly half of that money was spent<\/a> by AIPAC, which secretly funneled money to support its candidates using shell<\/a> groups that appeared to be unaffiliated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group has used similar tactics in New Jersey<\/a> and Pennsylvania<\/a>. Ala Stanford, a candidate for Pennsylvania\u2019s 3rd District in Philadelphia<\/a>, was recently revealed<\/a> to have received $500,000 worth of backing from AIPAC through a super PAC despite claiming to have received no support from the Israel lobby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, in Maine<\/a>, a clique of Republican billionaires who back Sen. Susan Collins<\/a> (R-Maine)\u2014including <\/strong>Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and Palantir CEO Alex Karp\u2014also recently dropped<\/a> $2 million to fund an ad campaign seeking to hamper the chances of the Democratic Senate primary front-runner Graham Platner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cannot allow unlimited outside spending to distort our elections or drown out the voices of working people,\u201d the senators said in Sunday\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Super PACs like AIPAC, AI and crypto are buying elections with billionaire money.

We'll never address the major crises facing our country as long as that continues.

We must overturn Citizens United and kick billionaire-funded super PACs OUT of Democratic primaries NOW. pic.twitter.com\/weZGwx0izI<\/a><\/p>— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 22, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>