The Washington Free Beacon's Lachlan Markay said Friday that the Hillary Clinton campaign is getting close to "panic mode" as recent polls show 2016 Democratic nomination challenger Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) leading Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire.
On Fox Business, Markay told host Neil Cavuto that victories for Sanders in those two states would go a long way to erasing Clinton's electability argument.
"We're approaching panic mode for the Clinton campaign right now, because the entire argument for her candidacy so far has been basically her inevitability as a result of her wide name recognition and this tremendous political machine that she has behind her," Markay said. "So Sanders picks up the first two states. All of a sudden, he looks like a very viable candidate, and I think most rank-and-file Democrats agree with him more on the issues than they do with Hillary Clinton."
Clinton needs to "rebound in a big way," Markay said, or Sanders' momentum could carry him to getting more donor cash.
Cavuto said that many Democratic voters view Sanders in the mold of George McGovern, the far-left 1972 Democratic nominee who appealed to the party's base but was routed by President Richard Nixon in the general election.
"Is that a risk? Does the party, then, in that event, try to look for an alternative?" Cavuto asked.
"I don't know that there really is a political mainstream anymore, and Democrats are having the same problem that Republicans are having ... A candidate that they can't control that really speaks to populist impulses that go beyond the normal power structures of Washington, D.C.," Markay said.