The Connecticut Democrat expects a lot of movement in New Hampshire, where Sanders has been polling ahead of Clinton, over the next week.
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A relaxed and confident former secretary of state answered questions from voters after clinching the narrowest win in Iowa caucus history with 49.8 percent compared to 49.6 percent for Sanders.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are in a tug-of-war over who’s the best standard-bearer for progressive values as they road test lines of argument for the first one-on-one debate of the Democratic campaign.
Clinton shot back in her session following Sanders, quipping that she was “amused” that the Vermont senator appears to consider himself the “gatekeeper on who’s progressive”. The Clinton campaign suggested using Flint as a debate site, saying the people of Flint deserve a national discussion about what the state forced on their community.
Tuesday night, at an event in Hampton, Clinton also went after Sanders on electability.
Listen for Clinton’s heavy emphasis on Obama’s health law, which she says she wants to build on while Sanders would switch to a government-paid health system.
The theme has always been key to the contest between Democrats, but with Martin O’Malley’s exit from the race this week, that contest is focused and dagger-sharp, and it’s rooted in the emotional question of which candidate would represent cash-strapped, everyday Americans. Sanders said pharmaceutical companies should be accountable for their products and the consequences of drug overdoses.
Does Clinton change her strategy?
But she stressed her commitment to campaigning in New Hampshire, while acknowledging that Sanders is leading the polls.
The town hall took place just six days before New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary.
All are issues important to black voters, who will make up a majority of the Democratic electorate in South Carolina’s February 27 primary.
“I believe that, as a human being, the pain that one person feels, if we have children who are hungry in America, if we have elderly people who can’t afford their prescription drugs, you know what, that impacts you, that impacts me”, he said.
No one was there to lead the caucus, so “a pregnant lady took charge and counted the Bernie supporters, and a Hillary captain took the small group to a corner and counted the supporters”, he said.
Sanders is strong with white, rural voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, but needs to broaden his appeal to the large minorities he will face in Nevada and SC and beyond.
He says he’ll help Paul however he can in his re-election bid, joking “I’d go to Kentucky either to speak for or against him, whatever would help”.
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In these first two days here, Gabby Giffords and husband Mark Kelly have already campaigned twice with Clinton – a sign the campaign is also making an effort to draw differences with Sanders on guns. “She won the state”, he said.
