“If I were a campaign manager for Donald Trump and I look at the field, I would very much want to run against Bernie Sanders,” Messina said. “I think the contrast is the best. He can say, ‘I’m a business guy, the economy’s good and this guy’s a socialist.’ I think that contrast for Trump is likely one that he’d be excited about in a way that he wouldn’t be as excited about [Joe Biden Joe BidenCast of 'Parks and Rec' reunite for virtual town hall to address Wisconsin voters Biden says Trump should step down over coronavirus response Biden tells CNN town hall that he has benefited from white privilege MORE] or potentially [Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegBogeymen of the far left deserve a place in any Biden administration Overnight Defense: Woodward book causes new firestorm | Book says Trump lashed out at generals, told Woodward about secret weapons system | US withdrawing thousands of troops from Iraq A socially and environmentally just way to fight climate change MORE] or some of the more Midwestern moderate candidates.”

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Messina, who is not endorsing a 2020 Democratic candidate, added that from "a general election perspective, socialism is not going to be what Democrats are going to want to defend."

"If you’re the Democratic nominee for the Montana Senate race, you don’t want to spend the election talking about socialism," he said.

The comments from Messina arrive less than a month before the Iowa caucuses and after a new poll showed Sanders with a narrow lead over the rest of the Democratic field in the early voting state. The Des Moines Register/CNN poll released on Friday showed Sanders with a 3-point advantage over Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenWarren, Schumer introduce plan for next president to cancel ,000 in student debt The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Don't expect a government check anytime soon No new taxes for the ultra rich — fix bad tax policy instead MORE (D-Mass.). Former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Vice President Biden registered in third and fourth, respectively.

“If [Messina] spent less time in boardrooms courting CEOs, he would witness the incredible energy generated by Bernie’s campaign, which has more than 5 million individual donations — the all-time record for a presidential candidate at this point in the race,” Sanders's communications director, Mike Casca, said in a statement to Politico, referencing Messina's work as the CEO of the Messina Group, a strategic consulting business.

David Sirota, a speechwriter for Sanders, has also pushed back against the arguments that Vermont senator's progressive messages would hurt him. In Saturday's edition of his "Bern Notice" newsletter, Sirota noted that similar attacks were leveled against former Obama when he was campaigning in 2008.

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"Washington elites called Obama unelectable in swing areas — and they are trotting out the same line against Bernie, despite all the data to the contrary," he wrote.

The Sanders campaign did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from The Hill.