The fairness of the 2016 Democratic presidential primary is an albatross around Former Secretary Tom Perez’s neck. Earlier this month Perez landed himself in hot water when he aligned himself with the Sanders wing of the Democratic Party and said that the 2016 primary was rigged. Yet almost immediately after those comments were reported, Perez backpedaled and said Clinton won the nomination “fair and square.”

Perez did not have any easier of a time with that critical question last night. Perez was once again put on the spot to offer his views on the evenhandedness of the 2016 primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Speaking at the CNN DNC Debate, Perez was pressed repeatedly by anchor Chris Cuomo on the topic, and could do nothing but dodge the question:

Perez’s ducking on this issue will not endear him to the vocal Bernie Sanders supporters. They still firmly believe the Democratic primary was rigged, and Perez’s inability to placate this faction will significantly limit his abilities to unify the party should he win on Saturday.

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