Mike Segar / Reuters Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (L) speaks to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the Democratic presidential candidates debate at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire, February 4, 2016.

Those who don't "feel the Bern" may instead be fearing it.

In a conversation with Santa Monica public radio's KCRW on Wednesday, Republican strategist Dave Carney speculated that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) could pose a bigger threat to the GOP in the general election than Hillary Clinton would.

Sanders has tapped into a powerful populist anger (as has Trump), and that sentiment isn't easy for opposing candidates to overcome, Carney said.

"Bernie does the exact same thing that Trump does on the different side of the coin," Carney argued. "They talk about this economic disconnect between the elites and the rest of us ... and they have different prescriptions for fixing that, but it’s the same anger, the same concern."

Carney said that while Sanders' self-description as a "democratic socialist" might alienate some people, it ultimately becomes irrelevant once voters enter the voting booth.

He recalled Republicans who dismissed Obama in 2008, passing him off as "a two-year U.S. senator who has done nothing," with no real prospects in the general election. Obama, as we all know, went on to serve two terms.

"I think Bernie ... would bring new energy to the general election," Carney concluded, "and I would be more worried about him."

Also on HuffPost:

PHOTO GALLERY Bernie Sanders' Most Interesting Quotes