INDIANOLA, Iowa — Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday predicted that he would lose the Iowa caucuses if turnout was low.

"On Monday night, we will know very very early, who wins the Democratic caucus," Sanders said, having returned to the state after time away due to the Senate impeachment trial. "If the voter turnout is low, we're going to lose — simple as all that."

However, he said, "if the voter turnout is high, if people throughout the state are prepared to come out, not just to defeat [President] Trump, but to transform this country. If working people and young people in all people who believe in justice — economic justice, social justice, racial justice, environmental justice — if they come out in large numbers, we're going to win this caucus."

Earlier in his speech, Sanders made turnout a central part of his electability case against Trump as many Democrats fret at his rise in polls out of fear that he would be too radical to win in November.

"I believe that we are the strongest campaign to defeat Trump," Sanders said. He went on to argue, "Our campaign is the campaign of energy, is the campaign of excitement, is the campaign that can bring millions of people into the political process who normally do not vote."

