susan sarandon

There is a school of thought which posits that a Bernie Sanders presidential nomination could undermine down-ballot Democratic candidates come Election Day. This notion was on full display over the weekend as Pete Buttigieg attacked Sanders after the Vermont senator won eight times as many delegates as he did in the Nevada caucuses, while cementing his position as the undisputed Democratic front-runner.

"I believe the only way to truly deliver any of the progressive changes we care about is to be a nominee who actually gives a damn about the effect you are having, from the top of the ticket, on those crucial, front-line House and Senate Democrats running to win, who we need to win, to make sure our agenda is more than just words on a page," Buttigieg said in his Nevada concession speech. The former South Bend, Indiana mayor then accused Sanders of "ignoring, dismissing, or even attacking the very Democrats we absolutely must send to Capitol Hill in order to keep Nancy Pelosi as speaker, in order to support judges who respect privacy and democracy, and in order to send Mitch McConnell into retirement."