There is a higher probability of a contested Democratic convention this year and the race for the nomination will be "a lot closer than what people think," according to a 2016 campaign staffer for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Appearing Thursday on "Fox & Friends: First" with host Heather Childers, Tezlyn Figaro said that superdelegates have lost a lot of the "power" they had in 2016 because "it leaned so far towards Hillary Clinton" and – as a result – the Democratic National Convention (DNC) "limited" their influence.

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The Iowa caucuses are just weeks away and there are 1,919 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination on the first ballot. However, with no clear front-runner within the party, there's the looming possibility of the first brokered convention in half a century.

Figaro believes this is a direct result of problems with the DNC's process, pointing Childers toward previous complaints.

"But then, you also have to look at the fact that Booker, Castro, and Tulsi Gabbard have complained already about the DNC process and we haven't even gotten down to the first vote — the first Iowa caucus," she said. "So, when you look at all of the tension among what's already happened – the unfairness has already been called out by not just Bernie Sanders this time – you have a higher probability of a contested convention."

Recent Real Clear Politics data of the Iowa polling average for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination shows both South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sanders in the lead ahead of former vice president Joe Biden.

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In New Hampshire, Sanders leads the group.

"But, we certainly know that it's certainly not Biden who is leading that charge," Figaro told Childers. "And so, that's what's going to be concerning because if the Democrats continue to want to push him with being the nominee, there's going to be some issues and Bernie's going to the convention."

"I think he'll contest — just to be quite honest with you," she concluded.