Washington Post reporter Chris Cillizza says that if Hillary Clinton loses Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina to Bernie Sanders, “she will not be the nominee.”

Monday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Cillizza said, “I would argue that lots can change if you see the first two states won by someone who is not the heavy front-runner.”

Asked by Mitchell if Sanders could give Clinton “a run for her money in South Carolina,” Cillizza said, “Yeah. I was listening to Governor Rendell earlier on the show say, ‘Well, if he wins South Carolina and Iowa and New Hampshire, then we have a real race on our hands.’ And I said–I talked to the TV too much, Andrea–but I said no, I mean, if he wins those three states, she will not be the nominee if Bernie Sanders wins Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.”

“I think Nevada is an easier state for him just demographically than South Carolina is. But I will say this Andrea, if history is any indication, when you look at sort of what happens if somebody wins the first two states, remember John Kerry in 2004 was like ‘John Kerry, he’s an afterthought.’ Well, he wins Iowa, New Hampshire, the race is over,” Cillizza said. “Now Bernie Sanders isn’t John Kerry in terms of the establishment but I would argue that lots can change if you see the first two states won by someone who is not the heavy front-runner.”

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