Bernie Sanders faces the biggest test of his decades-long career this week.
The first Democratic debate of the 2016 presidential season on Tuesday offers Sanders his best chance to argue that his campaign is not merely a summertime lark fueled by fickle millennials, but instead a sturdy and battle-ready movement that can span 50 states and capture the nomination and the White House.
Ahead of the showdown in Las Vegas, Sanders spent the weekend making the case he's not out of the mainstream, repeatedly arguing that it's "not a radical idea" to think someone should be paid a livable wage or that students should not go into a lifetime of debt.
Hillary Clinton's failure to quiet the questions surrounding her use of a private e-mail account coupled with her establishment credentials have provided an opening for Sanders, who nearly matched her quarterly fundraising total with a $26 million haul.
