Progressive Bernie Sanders endorses Democrat who’s made racist, sexist remarks

Progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders has endorsed a Democratic candidate for New York City comptroller who, as a former punk rock musician, has a history of making racist, sexist and homophobic statements online, according to a review by Fox News Digital.

Sanders endorsed Justin Brannan, a Democratic New York City councilman who is now running for comptroller, saying he would fight corruption and stand for the working class. Brannan’s campaign website says that, in the music scene he comes from, “people look out for one another and pick each other up when they fall down.” 

Brannan says he has carried these values into his work as a New York City councilmember and that he will do so as a city comptroller. 

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However, a review of statements Brannan made on several music listservs during his years as a punk rocker in the ’90s puts a very different set of values on display, including statements mocking Puerto Ricans, Asians, homosexual individuals and others.

On two different occasions in 1999, Brannan used the N-word, writing, “Yo n—- be representing Dead Kennedys and Social D in ‘Stir of Echoes'” and “Yo, this swizz n—- is deep.”

In a 1998 post, Brannan also recounted an interview with a now-defunct music publication in which he said he preferred to shave his head bald, explaining, “I like to keep it nice and trim like the Nazis.” 

He then added, “I find myself more intimidating with the shaved head too when I smack up my b——.”

Brannan also mocked Asians, writing in one 1999 post that “Chinese people can not drive” and in another, “one thing you’ll never see” is a “Chinese driving instructor.” That same year, he mocked “Homicide: Life on the Street” actor and New York City native Yaphet Kotto, writing “Yaphet Koto ? Yum. I like it with brown rice.”

The Democratic candidate also repeatedly sparred with a disabled listserv member, writing posts such as, “If you are really crippled, thats pretty funny. Guess what I did today? I walked up and down stairs, all around the town. What did you do? Drool into a spitoon?,” “I think it would be funny to beat up a handicapped person” and “I just had a vision of you like Stephen Hawking. I made myself laugh. HAHAHAHAAHA! You parapalegic f—.”

Brannan, along with other city employees, was also accused of bullying an autistic colleague during his time as a New York City government staffer. According to reporting by the New York Post, the staffer received an $850,000 court settlement paid for by the city in 2021.

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The sun sets on the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City as a person runs along the Hudson River Feb. 25, 2024, in Jersey City, N.J.  (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

In 1999, shortly after returning from shows in Puerto Rico, Brannan said, “Everyone in Puerto Rico has a gun and doesn’t wear underwear.”

Brannan also constantly used an anti-gay slur to insult others or make jokes, such as writing, “you f—— loser f–.” “He said he was gonna see some f—– punk show at Coney Island” and “Email me you f–.”

The New York City primary election is scheduled for Tuesday, June 24. Brannan is running to replace the current city comptroller, Brad Lander, who is running for New York City mayor and was recently arrested by federal authorities for allegedly impeding an immigration enforcement arrest. 

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Democratic mayoral candidates Andrew Cuomo, left, and Zohran Mamdani, right, present arguments as Whitney Tilson, center, looks on during a Democratic mayoral primary debate June 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)

Sanders has also endorsed New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. 

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Neither Brannan’s office nor Sanders’ office responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment ahead of the publication deadline.