Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders once wrote a weird essay about women having gang rape fantasies, but he’s yet to face any scrutiny for it so far in his 2020 presidential campaign.

“A man goes home and masturbates his typical fantasy. A woman on her knees, a woman tied up, a woman abused,” is how Sanders began his 1972 essay, published in the Vermont Freeman. “A woman enjoys intercourse with her man — as she fantasizes being raped by 3 men simultaneously.”

He added later: “Do you know why the newspapers with the articles like ‘Girl 12 raped by 14 men’ sell so well? To what in us are they appealing?”

So far this campaign, which unlike his previous campaign comes amid the #MeToo era, Sanders has yet to face any questions about his rape writing, either from the press or from his fellow candidates.

One senior Republican official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to comment publicly, said the rape essay is expected to become an issue in the general election, if Sanders wins the primary.

It’s honestly wild to me that no campaign has attacked Bernie for writing about women having rape fantasies https://t.co/0pMArmEArS — Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) January 13, 2020

Sanders faced a handful of questions about the bizarre essay during his previous presidential campaign. When asked about it by MSNBC’s Chuck Todd in 2015, Sanders compared it to the graphic novel “50 Shades of Grey.” (RELATED: Bernie Sanders Pushed False Flag Conspiracy Theory About Domestic Bombings)

“This is a piece of fiction that I wrote in 1972, I think. That was 43 years ago. It was very poorly written,” Sanders told Todd.

“If you read it, it was dealing with gender stereotypes. Why some men like to oppress women. Why other women like to be submissive. You know, something like ‘Fifty Shades of Grey.’ Very poorly written. Forty-three years ago,” he added.

Sanders’s campaign didn’t return the Daily Caller News Foundation’s inquiry on whether he’s concerned that the rape essay could come up during his 2020 presidential bid.

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