Washington Free Beacon senior writer Elizabeth Harrington said newly announced presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) has pushed mainstream Democratic candidates to adopt "radical" views.
Since announcing his run for the Democratic nomination Tuesday, Sanders has raised $6 million, and Harrington noted he's driving "so-called mainstream candidates" to the left, such as Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.).
"They are adopting these policies. They are on board with the Green New Deal, and they don't even know what's in it. Kamala Harris said she wants to eliminate private insurance in her first town hall," she said. "[Sanders] has moved the party to the left, and they've all gotten on board with these ideas that are radical, that are not mainstream and an average voter in a general election will reject."
Harrington also suggested it was possible Sanders could emerge as the victor from a crowded field of candidates.
"Well, who's to say, but you could have a situation where since there's so many candidates running, he is the one with the base of support," Harrington said.
Compared to Sanders, even leading Democratic fundraisers have not seen such impressive figures. Harris raised $1.5 million in the 24 hours following her announcement, which is about one quarter of Sanders' haul.
Democratic candidates have embraced a number of far-left views likely influenced by Sanders, who considers himself a democratic socialist.
Harris advocated eliminating private health insurance at a CNN town hall late last month. Fellow Democratic candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.) and prospective candidate Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) lent support to the proposal.
A number of candidates have also expressed support for self-described democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's (D., N.Y.) Green New Deal proposal, which would provide economic security to those "unwilling to work." Gillibrand and Harris both said they support it, while Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J) likened implementation of the proposal to fighting Nazis during World War II and landing on the moon in 1969.