"Excellent." Sanders's voice was tinged with exhaustion. "On your behalf, I've pissed off quite a few people on Capitol Hill. That old sly fox Montoya was ready to go to war with me."
"Thank you, Senator."
"Don't thank me yet. I've only cleared the junk out of the boxing ring for you," Sanders said. "Washington has already given me their word. The Democratic National Committee has promised to remain strictly neutral in the upcoming primary. In other words, they won't be giving that fool Carter Wright any more extra funding, data, or administrative assistance."
"They've pulled back, Leo."
Sanders paused, his tone becoming exceptionally grave.
"Now, it's just you and him in the cage."
"I may have shielded you from the sneak attacks from above, but whether or not you can win this ground fight is up to you. Carter Wright might be an incompetent bureaucrat, but he's been in that seat for eight years. His local roots run much deeper than yours."
"Tell me, can you take him down?"
