Hours after the shooting, Senator Bernie Sanders responded on the Senate floor to news that Hodgkinson was a campaign volunteer for his 2016 presidential run:
I have just been informed that the alleged shooter at the Republican baseball practice is someone who apparently volunteered on my presidential campaign. I am sickened by this despicable act. Let me be as clear as I can be, violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms. Real change can only come about through nonviolent action, and anything else runs counter to our most deeply held American values.[6