Calling for more Democratic lawmakers who have “the guts to stand up for working people," Sen. Bernie Sanders weighed in on another US Senate primary on Monday, hours after a handful of Democrats agreed to reopen the federal government without Republican concessions on healthcare.

Sanders (I-Vt.), who earlier this year announced his support for Democratic Senate candidates Graham Platner in Maine and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, has now formally endorsed Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s candidacy for the US Senate.

In his endorsement, Sanders said that the Senate needs lawmakers who will stand up “against the billionaires and the corporate interests,” and argued that Flanagan understands the needs of working-class people personally due in part to her own blue-collar background.

“Peggy knows what it is to struggle,” he said. “She was raised by a hard-working single mother who needed [the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] to help put food on the table and Medicaid for healthcare. And she’s dedicated her career to fighting for working families.”

Sanders also hailed Flanagan’s accomplishments as both lieutenant governor and Minnesota state legislator, and he said she would work to fight for progressive priorities on a national level.

“Peggy fought to raise the minimum wage and she got it done,” he said. “She fought for paid family leave and she got it done. We need fighters who are from the working class and for the working class here in the Senate. Peggy will fight for Medicare for All, to raise the minimum wage to a living wage, and to address the crises we face in childcare, education, and housing.”

Sanders concluded his endorsement by arguing that “we don’t need more corporate Democrats in the Senate. We need Peggy Flanagan, who’ll fight for working people.”

Progressive political consultant Rebecca Katz hailed Sanders’ endorsements of Flanagan, Platner, and El-Sayed, whom she described on X as “three good candidates who understand the stakes and know how to fight back.”

Flanagan is running to replace retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), who has been serving in the Senate ever since former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) resigned in 2018. Flanagan will be facing off against Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn), a centrist Democrat who has several endorsements from the Democratic establishment, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

According to Minnesota Reformer, Flanagan has also scored endorsements from Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who both stumped for her at the Minnesota State Fair this past summer.

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