This Democratic presidential nomination battle has the feel of the party’s disastrous 1972 contests that resulted in a 49-state landslide for Republican incumbent Richard Nixon over left-wing Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota.

That Democratic tussle, like this one, featured a multicandidate field navigating an uncertain and volatile Democratic electorate. Like this race, with socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders making the party establishment extremely nervous, the 1972 primaries pushed to the fore a candidate, McGovern, seen as so radical that party insiders appeared to be in full panic mode. And, as in this year with Joe Biden, in 1972, a former vice president, Hubert Humphrey, was seen as at least a co-favorite early on but couldn’t sustain any advantage.