In February 2016, Fort announced he would relinquish his support for Hillary Clinton and support Bernie Sanders for President of the United States instead. He issued a statement saying, "After months of looking at Bernie’s record and studying his positions on healthcare, Wall Street, predatory lending and the minimum wage, I came to the conclusion that Bernie’s position on the issues that affect my constituents in Georgia the most conform most closely to my positions." Senator Fort also cited the ejection of Black Lives Matter protestors from a Hillary Clinton speech at Clark Atlanta University in 2015 as motivation to shy away from the Clinton campaign during the primary. His endorsement of Bernie Sanders for President made Fort the highest-ranking African-American legislator in the South to endorse Sanders.