Suddenly, with the poll numbers no longer such a sure lock for Hillary Clinton as they once were in Iowa, and the caucuses tonight, Bernie Sanders has decided that well, maybe her emails are a problem after all.

Asked Sunday by CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” whether voters should interpret his refusal to engage Clinton on the email issue to mean that Clinton did nothing wrong, Sanders replied with a firm, “No.”

“Nope, nope. That is not, I think, a fair assessment. That is, I think, a very serious issue,” Sanders said. “There is a legal process taking place, I do not want to politicize that issue. It is not my style.”

Sanders famously said in the first Democratic debate that he was tired of hearing about Clinton’s “damn emails,” brushing aside one of the biggest issues Republicans have raised to attack Clinton during the 2016 presidential cycle.

.@BernieSanders: @HillaryClinton's emails are a "very serious issue" https://t.co/RtmjRZHBh9 https://t.co/6gpwa6ngNu

— CNN (@CNN) January 31, 2016

Amazing how those “damn emails” now seem to matter so much, now that the race is a statistical dead heat within the margin of error, according to Real Clear Politics.

All this is happening as the Democratic establishment is freaking out that Sanders might actually win Iowa.

With an Iowa win on Monday within reach, Sanders is suddenly running a gantlet of criticism from Clinton and her allies, many in the media and even President Obama, all of whom seem to have awakened to the looming reality that a 74-year-old self-described democratic socialist could, at the very least, damage the Democratic front-runner and turn her march to the party’s nomination into a long, costly slog.

These forces are trying to push Iowa Democrats to reexamine the race and ask themselves whether Sanders is truly the better choice for the nomination.

Desperation to hang on to their anointed queen is sinking in at the DNC, as yet another town hall debate got placed on the calendar yesterday. This one will be in New Hampshire on Wednesday.

Just announced by @CNN: another #DemTownHall, this one in N.H. next Wednesday https://t.co/7bTfNIc2lB @AndersonCooper will moderate

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 31, 2016

Even though Sanders is expected to wipe the mat with Hillary in New Hampshire (as next-door neighbor Vermont is his home state), the DNC is clearly feeling panicky if they are tossing another town hall into the mix in a state that is guaranteed to be a loss for Team Hillary.

@thehill It's not after facing criticism.They were criticized months ago. It's clearly because of Hillary's falling poll numbers. Be honest

— Libs aren't smart (@winston__1984) January 31, 2016

The problem isn’t that Hillary Clinton isn’t getting enough exposure in the debates. It’s that she’s been well exposed over the last 20 plus years in the public eye. Democrats know what they are going to get with Hillary Clinton. And they are neither excited nor trusting about her.

The DNC has put all their eggs in Hillary’s basket. If Bernie Sanders embarrasses them – and Hillary – in Iowa, those eggs will be on the face of Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the DNC.