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Sanders says polls show voters want change in midterm elections

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Independent senator Bernie Sanders cheered on progressive congressional candidates who have been on the rise in some states ahead of the 2026 midterm elections during an interview on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” Sunday.

The Vermont senator said that the support for such candidates shows “grassroots excitement and enthusiasm” and a nationwide push for change.

“Whether it’s Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont, or anyplace else in this country … the polling indicates this, the people are sick and tired of the status quo,” Sanders said. 

He brought up Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who is also running for a U.S. Senate seat. Both of their closely watched primaries will take place in August.

Sanders is optimistic about their chances, but he did express concern about the “unbelievable amounts of money” that “the billionaire class” is throwing into some key races to “protect the establishment candidates.” He pointed to both of their Senate races, and also mentioned the competitive race in Maine. 

“Whether we could overcome that (spending) remains to be seen,” Sanders said, pointing to super PACs in Michigan putting $50 million against El-Sayed, who is competing against moderate Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, a congresswoman who has represented Michigan’s 11th Congressional District since 2019. Flanagan and Democrats including. Rep. Angie Craig are running for retiring Sen. Tina Smith’s seat.

In past elections, so-called “Bernie Bros” or progressive supporters have been accused of dividing the Democrat base with far-left candidates who are unable to muster widespread support during the general election and allowing a Republican to take office. Democrat Rahm Emanuel recently warned in an op-ed that such a scenario could occur again in the 2026 midterms. When asked to respond, Sanders said that he believed the support and recent election of other progressive candidates shows voters want change. 

“There’s no debate — there is a strong division within the Democratic Party,” Sanders said. “What is getting these guys, we are winning all over this country. … People are sick and tired of the Rahm Emanuels and Democratic establishment and Republican establishment.” 

Sanders also said he thinks working-class Republican voters may be swayed by progressive candidates. 

“They can’t afford to send their kids to college. They can’t afford decent retirements. More than a few of them, by the way, will be voting for Peggy Flanagan (for Senate in Minnesota) and Abdul in Michigan,” Sanders predicted.  

Sanders also addressed the Senate race in Maine, where state Democrats just selected Troy Jackson to replace progressive Graham Platner on the ballot. Platner suspended his campaign after a sexual assault allegation, ending a Senate bid that had already weathered other personal controversies. Asked by Brennan if he regretted supporting Platner, Sanders said he did not.

He said that when he heard the allegation, “I wanted to get on the phone. I wanted to talk to him.” 

Sanders continued, “I asked, along with virtually all (of) his supporters, that he should get out of the race — that he did.” 


Brennan asked whether Sanders was confident that the other candidates he is backing have been fully vetted. 

“I don’t know who has been ‘fully vetted,'” he replied, adding, “All I know is, Margaret, the candidates that we are supporting are standing up for the working class of this country.”

Sanders said he believes that despite the shorter window left before Election Day, Jackson can make up ground with voters. 

“I think he stands an excellent chance to win,” Sanders said. 

“I’ve known Troy for many years. What he understands is that the people of Maine are sick and tired of a rigged economy in which the billionaire class is getting richer and richer, where we have more income and wealth inequality today than we’ve ever had in the history of this country, while 60% of our people, including in Maine, Vermont, all over this country, are living paycheck to paycheck,” Sanders said.

A whisper from the rubble led to baby’s rescue after Colombia earthquake

By CNN
(CNN) — When the deadly 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Colombia on Monday, Brian Osorio Zuluaga ran out of his office in Cali and rushed home on his motorbike.The sight of a collapsed five-story residential building forced him to stop.“It was a large complex, covering an entire block,” Osorio told CNN.The quake was the strongest to hit Colombia in more than a decade and sent residents and neighbors of the building, La Torres del Limonar, fleeing into the street, “some in sleepwear or pajamas; some crying, others in shock,” Osorio said.He approached the rubble and began shouting into the wreckage for survivors, despite warnings about a possible gas leak.He suddenly asked those around him for silence. A faint sound rose out of the debris — barely a whisper.“Yes, I’m here. I’m with a baby,” a man’s voice replied.Osorio described how he and several others began moving debris with their hands to reach the pair. But a large concrete slab blocked their way.“On the first attempt, we couldn’t lift it,” he said. Then, “we all lifted together — one, two, three, up.”The slab was too heavy to toss aside, and Osorio was worried there could be more people trapped underneath. Some volunteers held it aloft as others cleared a path to the baby.“You can see the baby’s little head there — which, at the time, looked sort of purplish because he couldn’t breathe,” Osorio said. “Once we started removing the rubble, the baby began to… breathe, and his color started to come back.”Video of the remarkable rescue filmed by Osorio shows the tiny infant in a dusty bodysuit being carefully pulled out of the wreckage. A man, his arm bloodied, can be seen lying awkwardly on his side, still half-trapped under a concrete plank.Osorio said he was handed the baby, a boy, and gave him to a police officer, who took him to an ambulance. They then turned their attention to freeing the trapped man.In the rubble, Osorio said he saw clothes, shoes, and a stuffed animal covered in dust. He thought about the people who might still be trapped.“All those thoughts go through your mind,” he said.The bravery of everyone who rushed to help was what saved the lives of both man and baby.“Unity is strength, because no one person alone could have lifted that piece of rubble; it was so large and so heavy,” he said.“It’s better to act than to stand still,” Osorio added. “Every bit helps.”Rescue efforts enter third daySearch and rescue operations entered their third day early on Wednesday, as emergency responders raced to find more survivors after the powerful quake struck western Colombia, killing more than 200 people, according to a CNN count based on reports from officials.The quake struck at the heart of the country’s coffee-growing region and catapulted communities into a state of national disaster as world leaders offered aid and assistance.The European Union has mobilized its satellite service Copernicus and is providing funding to help the response, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.In Cali, a woman was pulled from under a mountain of rubble on Tuesday to cheers as firemen carried her out on a stretcher following a complex, multinational rescue operation.And in Pereira, a CNN team on the ground saw rescue workers and volunteers form a human chain to remove debris and help save those trapped from an apartment building.“There’s folks who have jumped in and you can see they’re wearing everything from athleisure wear to shorts, tennis shoes — they’re not prepared for this,” CNN’s senior national correspondent David Culver said from the site. “We have seen scenes like this scattered throughout Pereira. This is one of the hardest-hit areas.”But in the epicenter of Monday’s earthquake, Chocó, an indigenous leader told CNN that help has yet to reach the area, Colombia’s poorest region.Victor Chamapuro, leader of the Wounaan Indigenous Reserve “Buenavista” in Chocó’s Litoral del San Juan, said “all our houses are on the ground.”“Where are we going to sleep now? We have to be alert now, we’re sleeping outside,” he said.Chamapuro called on authorities to send food and medicine, saying one person in the community was injured.The “Buenavista” reserve can only be reached by boat on a five-hour journey from the port of Buenaventura, on Colombia’s Pacific coast.Video sent by Chamapuro from the reserve shows flattened buildings that appear to be built from timber and corrugated iron sheets. Others are still standing but with varying levels of damage.The earthquake is one of the first major challenges for Colombia’s new far-right President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office only last week and has promised to strike hard at criminal groups and leftist militants in Colombia.De la Espriella on Tuesday announced economic relief measures for those affected by the quake, and financial support for people who have lost their homes to rent temporary housing.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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