Sanders, Buttigieg trade barbs as New Hampshire Democratic primaries near

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg carry their fight for the Democratic presidential nomination to the nation’s airwaves today as they scrap for votes with just two days to go before New Hampshire’s closely-watched primary.

The 78-year-old Vermont senator and the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, came in atop the first contest in Iowa — marred by messy confusion about the result — giving each important momentum as Democrats seek a candidate to take on Donald Trump in November.

Sanders, a leftist whose state borders New Hampshire and who won there by a landslide in 2016, holds a lead in that state in four polls released Sunday, each of which had the moderate Buttigieg in second followed by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren then former vice president Joe Biden.

“I think we have an excellent chance to win,” Sanders tells CNN’s “State of the Union,” lining up political talk show appearances before a final push on the ground in the small northeastern state.

With the primary season under way in earnest, some of the earlier collegiality among Democrats has fallen away.

“I am running against a candidate, Pete Buttigieg, among others, who has raised contributions from more than 40 billionaires,” Sanders tells CNN. “Our support is coming from the working class of this country.”

His campaign, based heavily on small donors, says it raised $25 million last month.

Buttigieg, appearing separately on CNN, turns aside the billionaire charge, quipping, “Well, Bernie’s pretty rich, and I would happily accept a contribution from him.”

Turning serious, the 38-year-old Indiana politician adds: “This is the fight of our lives. I’m not a fan of the current campaign finance system, but I’m also insistent that we’ve got to go into this with all of the support we can get.”

— AFP