Elizabeth Warren may be the only one in the Democratic Party who can stop Bernie Sanders now.

No, Warren can’t win, but she can make it tougher for Sanders if she stays in the race. Not exactly a great campaign bumper sticker, but it’s Warren’s only rationale left.

Here’s the bleak reality facing Democrats right now: The senior senator from Massachusetts is the last remaining Democrat left who can siphon progressives away from Sanders, who has dominated with that voting group in the first two contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The Vermont socialist only got 26% of the vote in New Hampshire, but it was enough to eke out a narrow win over former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Exit polls show Bernie’s backbone of support was young, liberal college students and older, diehard progressives.

Warren has only been able to do well in a narrow voting group — college educated females — but she’s at least been able to stop Sanders from stealing those voters, too.

That’s why it’s so critical for her to stay in “the fight,” as she likes to say.

Because despite his limitations, Sanders can win the nomination now by simply racking up 25-30% of the vote in the rest of the states.

As long as Amy Klobuchar, Buttigieg, Joe Biden and Mike Bloomberg split up the moderate vote, Bernie will have the progressive lane to himself if Warren is eliminated or severely weakened.

And that’s enough votes to win the nomination. Donald Trump pulled a similar feat in 2016, winning just enough of a plurality of angry, disaffected Republicans to become the nominee.

But if Warren can somehow rebound from her New Hampshire disaster and continue to pull liberal voters, she poses a threat to Sanders’ path to the nomination.

Here’s the problem: Warren’s candidacy is close to tanking right now. No one wants to vote for a loser, so she’s going to have a tough time claiming any new momentum in Nevada and South Carolina.

If she loses big in those two states, she’ll have to endure a new round of calls for her to drop out.

She’s vowing to keep going on through at least Super Tuesday, where she still has some organizational support in those March 3 primary states. But she’s not the favorite to win anywhere except in her home state of Massachusetts, and even that’s not a lock.

That’s why it’s vitally important for Warren to ignore the depressing outlook, and press on. She’s always been good at delusion — like overlooking the fact she claimed to be a minority for ten years. So why not apply that philosophy now and at least pretend like she’s got a shot at winning? It just might be enough to stop Bernie from getting a lock on the nomination in the coming weeks.

And if that’s Warren’s lasting legacy in this race, that’ll have to do. Who knows, it might be enough to earn her a VP nod.