Bernie Sanders. AP Photo/Jim Cole Some of the most powerful figures in the Republican Party are doing everything they can to help Democratic presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders.

It's been a strange race from the start — an insult-spewing outsider trumps an establishment favorite on one side; a Denmark-loving socialist mounts a serious challenge on the other — and during Sunday evening's fourth Democratic presidential debate, things got stranger.

During the debate, the Republican National Committee sent out four separate e-mails defending the Vermont senator against Hillary Clinton on issues ranging from single-payer healthcare to guns to Wall Street, as reporters noted across Twitter.

RNC is sending out a fact check defending Bernie Sanders from HRC's attacks on single payer health care. This feels weird. — Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) January 18, 2016

The RNC is sending reporters multiple rapid response emails defending Bernie Sanders from Clinton's attacks. Very unusual. — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 18, 2016

On Twitter, Sean Spicer, the RNC's chief spokesman and strategist, tweeted multiple messages supporting Sanders and his points with the pro-Sanders hashtag #FeelTheBern.

And following the debate, Republican operatives did their best to cast Sanders as the debate winner.