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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., rejected any regret Sunday on “Face the Nation” over his early support for former Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner, saying he urged Platner to withdraw once a former girlfriend accused him of sexual assault.
Host Margaret Brennan asked Sanders whether he regretted not acting sooner in response to earlier warning signs, saying that could have given Platner’s replacement, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, more time to campaign.
“No, I don’t think so,” Sanders said. “When we heard the serious allegations made against him, I wanted to get on the phone. I wanted to talk to him. I did. I asked, along with virtually all his supporters, that he should get out of the race, and he did.”
Brennan pressed Sanders on whether he was confident the other progressive candidates he had endorsed had been thoroughly examined.
WATCH: SANDERS LASHES OUT AT GOP ‘MORALITY’ WHILE RALLYING BEHIND DEM WITH NAZI-LINKED TATTOO
“Well, look, I think, you know, there are hundreds of candidates. I don’t know who has been, quote unquote, fully vetted,” Sanders said. “All I know is, Margaret, that the candidates that we are supporting are standing up for the working class of this country.”
Sanders repeatedly campaigned with Platner and continued supporting him through controversies involving offensive social media posts, a Nazi-linked tattoo, allegations of abusive conduct and reports that he exchanged explicit messages with women while married. Platner denied serious wrongdoing while apologizing for some of his past posts and opinions.
When Sanders was asked in June whether he was reconsidering his endorsement following the report about the messages, he gave a two-word response.
“Certainly not,” Sanders said, according to Fox News Digital.
PLATNER’S THREE-DAY VETTING JOB COMES BACK TO HAUNT DEMS AS RAPE ALLEGATION ROCKS SENATE BID
Sanders later declined to answer when Fox News Digital asked whether he believed women who had accused Platner of abuse. He called Platner to step aside after the separate sexual assault allegation surfaced, and Platner formally withdrew earlier this month.
Maine Democrats selected Jackson by a 566-5 delegate vote Saturday, leaving him roughly 100 days to challenge veteran Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Collins is seeking a sixth term.
Before Jackson’s nomination, Fox News Digital reported that his accelerated vetting had raised concerns about his past abortion position and reports concerning his temper, workplace conduct and mortgage history.
One Democratic strategist described the abbreviated examination of Jackson before delegates voted.
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“This is a bit of a rocket vetting process,” a Democratic strategist who works on Senate races, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, told Fox News Digital.
The Maine turmoil comes amid a broader Democratic dispute over progressives challenging establishment-backed candidates. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel warned in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that “Bernie Bros” could damage Democrats in November by elevating candidates with unpopular positions, Fox News Digital reported.
Sanders said Emanuel’s criticism reflected an ideological and financial split within the party.
“There is a strong division within the Democratic Party,” Sanders said on Sunday.
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“You have an establishment like Rahm Emanuel, who are dependent on billionaire campaign contributors and want to maintain the status quo,” Sanders said. “Then you have a progressive movement, which, by the way, what is getting these guys nervous is we are winning all over this country.”
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