Recently I wrote a post criticizing Democratic Party bigwigs’ underwhelming support for their gubernatorial candidate Amanda Janoo. During the month of August, not a single Democratic officeholder donated to the badly underfunded Janoo campaign. (A few did donate to her campaign before August 1.) This is looking like a missed opportunity given recent signs of slippage in Gov. Phil Scott’s favorability numbers and the very real signs of life in Janoo’s organization. (She’s holding dozens of canvasses and honk-and-waves in coming weeks, which must mean she’s generating grassroots energy and attracting a lot of volunteers.)

But now it’s time to throw the same shade at Vermont’s very elder statesman, Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders. To his credit, he continues to work hard and travel his buns off in support of progressive-minded candidates across the country. Ballotpedia keeps a running tab of his endorsements — defined as “official statements, appearances at campaign rallies, and direct participation in campaign ads and materials.” It’s a very long list. In 2026 alone, Sanders has acted in support of 83 candidates across the country. That’s roughly one candidate every three days.

Amanda Janoo does not appear on the list. Nor do I recall Sanders issuing a statement about Janoo or appearing at one of her campaign events or, most valuable currency of all, sending an email to his vaunted contact list seeking donations for Janoo’s cash-starved campaign.

Janoo is a candidate straight out of Bernie Central Casting. She’s a creative, original thinker with a strong progressive streak. Her platform is a close match for Bernie’s. So why no love for the hometown candidate?

Caveat: I’m now entering the field of informed speculation. No insider input sought or granted. As long as I’ve been Observing Vermont Politics, our Congressional delegation has always kept in-state affairs at arm’s length. The likes of Pat Leahy, Peter Welch, and Becca Balint will show up at party events and deliver fiery speeches. They’ll cut four-figure checks to the state party out of their millions and millions of campaign cash. But there’s little evidence that they ever take an active role in state party affairs.

Why do they do this? The uncharitable interpretation is that they’ve seen the bright lights and shiny suits in Washington, and Vermont just seems awfully provincial by comparison. Our politics are low-stakes compared to the nation’s. The charitable interpretation is that they don’t want to bigfoot the party and its elected officials. But whatever the motivation, their disengagement means the state party can’t take full advantage of their political and financial muscle, which is considerable.

Sanders has been following the same pattern. What’s different with him is that he has no qualms about sticking his nose into the other 49 states’ internal politics. He has spent his Senatorial career trying to build a progressive movement across America. He just hasn’t done so in Vermont. According to Ballotpedia’s list, Sanders hasn’t endorsed a single candidate in Vermont since 2022, when he gave his highly desirable nod to Welch, Balint, and David Zuckerman. Each of them were running for open seats, so maybe that’s the thing: He doesn’t want to actively oppose Vermont officeholders, including Gov. Phil Scott, because as a member of Congress he has to work with them.

I can see why he might feel that way, but I don’t buy it. You can oppose an officeholder British fair-play style, Marquess of Queensbury rules, and still maintain a professional relationship after the election is over. It happens quite literally all the time.

On the other hand, Sanders used to endorse Vermont candidates all the damn time. Go back to 2020 or earlier, and he actively supported numerous candidates for statewide office and the Legislature. So the in-state timidity is a recent development.

I’m open to hearing other explanations. If anyone within the storied chambers of Vermont politics wants to offer their own ideas, they know how to reach me. All communications are off the record unless otherwise specified by both parties. If I get some interesting feedback, I’ll write a postscript here.

Meanwhile, the Janoo campaign soldiers onward with a lot of energy but not enough money for even the most basic of TV ad buys, and we’re now less than six weeks from Election Day. A single email blast from Bernie could make a huge difference. Too bad it’s apparently off the table.

Update. A reader suggested a reason for the non-endorsement: Sanders staff who vet candidates “require someone to be aligned with the [Democratic Socialists of America], and that Amanda isn’t actively aligned in that way.” Well, golly gee, the guy who has spent his political career as an independent is requiring a brand name for preferred candidates? Seems a bit hypocritical to me.