Bernie Sanders insists he’s the underdog in the presidential race against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton despite his commanding lead in New Hampshire polls ahead of next Tuesday’s first-in-the-nation primary.
“Of course we’re an underdog. We are taking on the most powerful political organization in the country,” Sanders told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Wednesday night in a clear swipe at Clinton during a town hall in Derry, New Hampshire. “We started this campaign nationally, as you well know, 40, 50, points behind Secretary Clinton … I think it’s fair to say we have come a pretty long way in the last nine months.”
His comment came on a day of escalating tension between Clinton and Sanders. Since Monday night’s Iowa caucuses, which Clinton narrowly won, the two have exchanged sharp words over the ideological direction of the Democratic Party in the post-Barack Obama era. Earlier Wednesday, Clinton, seeking to close Sanders’ big lead in New Hampshire, said she was “disappointed” at the Vermont senator over his comment on Tuesday that she was only a progressive “on some days.”
“I hope we keep it on the issues, because if it is about our records, hey, I am going to win by a landslide on Tuesday,” Clinton said.
Sanders responded during the town hall that he had simply quoted Clinton’s past statements.
“Secretary Clinton said, ‘Some people call me … a moderate. And I proudly say that I am a moderate,'” Sanders said. “That’s what she said.”READ: Democratic town hall: Live updates
Clinton trying to narrow gap in New Hampshire
Polls in New Hampshire suggest the primary will not be as close as the nail-biting Democratic caucuses in Iowa. Sanders, exploiting his high favorability in a state that borders his stomping ground of Vermont, has a strong advantage, leading Clinton 55% to 37% in the latest CNN Poll of Polls.
The Democratic primary may turn out to be the only contest in the 2016 race where Sanders faces the burden of high hopes compared to Clinton, the clear front-runner in national surveys.
But with her Iowa victory in her back pocket, and as she looks forward to looming nominating elections in South Carolina and Nevada where she is a strong favorite, Clinton can enjoy a short vacation from expectations in New Hampshire.
Clinton is trying to trim the gap between her and Sanders by portraying herself as a “progressive who gets results,” implicitly suggesting that the senator’s democratic socialism may be ideologically pure but has little chance of becoming reality in divided Washington.
“We are going to have a contest of ideas,” Clinton told Blitzer in an interview on Monday.
“I think it’s important people understand that good ideas are one thing, but you got to know how to implement. You’ve got to have a record of getting results. And I’m taking my ideas and my record to the people of New Hampshire this week.”
Sanders not taking anything for granted
Sanders, who envisages a much more pronounced role for government than Clinton in financial regulation, health care and other policy areas, has electrified the grass roots of the Democratic Party with his unapologetically liberal message.
He is hoping to build on his strong challenge to Clinton in Iowa, after reversing a 30-point deficit in opinion polls in the state in only three months.
“We began the political revolution not just in Iowa, not just in New Hampshire, but all over this country,” a hoarse Sanders told supporters in New Hampshire on Tuesday.
But he told reporters that despite his apparent advantages in New Hampshire, he was not taking anything for granted. His comments came even as he piled up a staggering $3 million in campaign contributions on the back of his performance in Iowa.
Sanders is well aware that his opponent feels a deep kinship to the state, after it revived Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential bid and Hillary Clinton’s 2008 primary campaign against Obama.
Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis said that he expected a sharper tone from Sanders at the CNN town hall, which gives the senator an opportunity to appeal to Democrats countrywide rather than just locally.
“Sen. Sanders clearly smells some blood. He thinks he has got some momentum,” Kofinis told CNN’s Carol Costello.
“I don’t think he is playing to New Hampshire. I think he is playing to a larger audience.”