Overview
- Senator Bernie Sanders publicly pressed top Democratic leaders on Sunday to bar super PACs from party primaries, sharing a letter and posts on X calling the system corrupt.
- Sanders cited campaign finance figures showing corporate-backed super PACs have spent about $517 million this cycle and said AIPAC and affiliates spent more than $30 million in the Michigan Senate primary.
- His letter was sent to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and DNC Chair Ken Martin and urged immediate party rule changes plus a constitutional fix to overturn Citizens United.
- Sanders pointed to the Michigan primary, where outside groups heavily funded a centrist candidate, as an example of outside money shaping nominations and then planning to support the Republican general-election nominee; media accounts of the move range across the political spectrum.
- He and Rep. Summer Lee have already proposed the Abolish Super PACs Act to cap individual super PAC donations at $5,000, but legal and Supreme Court limits mean party rules or a long-term constitutional change would be required to fully implement the ban.