Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) Sen. Bernie Sanders is on a roll -- and that is precisely what worries his rivals and is rattling the Democratic establishment one week before the Iowa caucuses open the party's nominating contest. But with polls in both Iowa and New Hampshire showing Sanders rising just weeks out from both contests, there is a sense of dread emanating from corners of the Democratic Party, with Republicans cheering on the Sanders surge. When Sanders ran against Hillary Clinton in 2016, establishment Democrats publicly said the Vermont senator would be a liability for the party in the general election. The 2020 primary is an entirely different calculation and the concerns from Democrats have followed Sanders' surge in the polls. Jeff Weaver, a senior adviser to the Sanders campaign, dismissed the handwringing from the Democratic establishment.

Source: CNN January 27, 2020 15:45 UTC