“I think Senator Sanders [and I] had a rapport but we didn’t have a relationship. But perhaps my time wouldn't have been so tough the last go around if in addition to having a relation to [campaign manager] Jeff Weaver I had an actual relationship to Senator Sanders,” she says. “I've built a real relationship with Vice President Biden, and I feel as though if anything were to happen, he would have my back.”

“If anybody’s wondering if Joe Biden can take on Donald Trump and is ready for a fight I’d point you to the video in Iowa,” Sanders said during a panel of operatives held at POLITICO’s Women Rule summit this month. Sanders was referring to a heated—and controversial—exchange Biden had with a voter where at one point he called the voter “a damn liar.”

In her current role, Symone Sanders represents something that could become very important in 2020 Democratic politics: If Biden becomes the nominee, and the activated political left is going to get in line for Uncle Joe, they’re going to walk the path that Symone Sanders walked, from the lure of the purist to the siren song of a person who you don’t entirely agree with but says he can just plain old win...…

Sanders says her relationship with Biden, like her relationship with Hassebrook on that first campaign, is “very frank” one. She travels with Biden, too, and has served as a surrogate in the spin room at the Democratic presidential debates. “I help with everything from debate prep to the political team, I help support the comms team, obviously people have seen me on television for the president. I help with delegate chasing. I help with fundraising.” The former vice president is her direct supervisor, she said. When I asked her how much of Biden’s ear she has, Sanders said: “I’m engaged and involved in our campaign strategy. But it's not just him. I speak with my colleagues, other advisers, the deputy campaign managers. I'm involved as much as I want to be or as least as I want to be.”

Sanders says her portfolio on the campaign includes progressives, minorities, and young voters, but she has also been a frequent spinmaster and part of the Biden cleanup crew. During a Twitter cycle that centered on whether a gang leader whom Biden said called himself “Corn Pop” was real, Sanders retweeted journalist Daniel Dale’s tweet about an article backing that up. “Okay now can we all get back to our Sunday?” she wrote. “Can’t believe this thread was necessary.”