Atlanta Mayoral Candidate Benefits From 'The Bern'

ATLANTA, GA -- An Atlanta mayoral candidate Sen. Vincent Fort is feeling the Bern after the Vermont senator officially endorsed him last month. The support has made a big difference in the Atlanta Democrat's bid to raise cash in the race.

Fort raised close to $250,000 since announcing his candidacy late last year, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Of that figure more than $100,000 came after Fort was endorsed by Bernie Sanders, the outspoken populist politician who shook up the establishment in 2016 with an insurgent run for the presidency.

Fort, along with other candidates, is expected to report his campaign earnings Tuesday to beat this week's deadline, according to news reports.

In early January, supporters reportedly received an email from Sanders, telling them that Fort, a Democrat, has what it takes to restore power to the people.

"The establishment in Georgia did everything they could to exact their revenge on Senator Fort – they even recruited a primary opponent to run against him in the last election cycle as punishment," Sanders wrote, according to a transcript of the email cited by Daily Kos website. "They failed to take him down then – and now that he’s running to be the next Mayor of Atlanta, we expect the entrenched political establishment and their billionaire backers to do everything in their power to defeat him."

Other candidates for Atlanta mayor include: Peter Aman, former chief operating officer for the city of Atlanta; Councilwoman Keisha Lance-Bottoms; Councilman Kwanza Hall; Council President Ceasar Mitchell; Councilwoman Mary Norwood; Michael Sterling, former head of the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency; and Cathy Woolard, former council president.

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