Bernie Sanders will lend a hand to Democratic Senate candidates after Labor Day by hitting the campaign trail with those competing in battleground states and seeking financial contributions from voters who supported him in the presidential primary.
"We are excited to have Sen. Sanders' help and support as we work to win back the majority," Sadie Weiner, spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, told Roll Call on Monday.
The Vermont senator is expected to join several Democratic Senate hopefuls at their campaign rallies throughout the fall and encourage young voters who were enthusiastic about his White House bid not to avoid staying home on Election Day.
Democrats will need to unseat four incumbent Republicans to regain control of the Senate if Hillary Clinton defeats Donald Trump, and one more if Trump is elected president. In battleground states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, Republican Sens. Ron Johnson, Pat Toomey and Kelly Ayotte are each down in RealClearPolitics' state-level polling averages.
Sanders is reportedly looking joining at least two swing state Senate hopefuls — Katie McGinty in Pennsylvania and Ted Strickland in Ohio — on the campaign trail shortly after the holiday weekend.
"We expect him to, we're excited for it, but nothing [has been] firmed up scheduling-wise," a Democratic source familiar with McGinty's schedule told the Washington Examiner.
"Bernie Sanders has pledged to campaign aggressively for Democrats up and down the ballot after Labor Day, and I'm very confident he will follow through on his word," Jeff Weaver, the former campaign manager for Sanders who now leads his activist group Our Revolution, told Roll Call.
While the 74-year-old socialist intends to help fundraise for Democratic candidates and bolster the party's support among young voters, he has declined to share his list of donors from the primary with the DSCC.
Sanders ended his bid for the White House in June, after Clinton clinched the nomination. He proceeded to nominate the former secretary of state by acclamation at last month's Democratic National Convention, much to the chagrin of some of his supporters.