While some may wonder if his father’s political distance contributed to his loss, New Hampshire politicos argued that defeat was inevitable: Levi, after all, lived about an hour outside of the district, and has a history of losing local elections, once finishing in seventh place in his bid for the Claremont city council. As The Boston Globe reported in February, nearly all of Bernie’s campaign aides, advisers, and allies in New Hampshire warned Levi—whose title on his father’s campaign was senior policy analyst—not to run, and not to expect their endorsements if he did. Jeff Weaver, Bernie’s presidential campaign manager, could barely disguise his disdain: “[He] really doesn’t know much, to be honest with you.”

Levi, for his part, has tried his best to separate his own accomplishments from those of his father, repeatedly joking that he wasn’t Bernie’s son, but the “the son of Larry David’s fourth cousin.” (Please clap.) But his sheer lack of political acumen soon became apparent after he announced his candidacy in February, too late in the cycle to win endorsements from like-minded progressives, and his campaign subsequently hauled in less than $35,000 in fund-raising. (“I made a conscience [sic] decision that I’m not going to take money from corporations, from lobbyists,” he told the Daily Beast, which pointed out that his father raised prodigious millions through small donations.) Even worse, the younger Sanders failed to register among New Hampshire voters, who told the Beast that they would have preferred a candidate who actually lived in the district. A questionable performance in last month’s Democratic primary debate, per The New York Times, did little to improve his chances. He tended toward shouting, and interrupted other candidates so frequently that the moderator threatened to cut off his microphone.