MANCHESTER, N.H. – The 2020 Democratic White House hopefuls locked horns over who is the most electable candidate in a matchup against President Trump at the debate in New Hampshire on Friday night, just days before the primary here.
Polls show that the most important issue for Democratic voters in New Hampshire is winning in November.
The biggest fight came between Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who are polling at the top in New Hampshire.
Buttigieg warned that Sanders would not budge from his far left positions, and said the Democratic nominee would have to be more flexible to appeal to a broader base of supporters.
“The biggest risk we could take at a time like this is to … is having a nominee who is dividing people by saying if you don’t go all the way to the edge, it won’t work. A policy that says my way or the highway,” Buttigieg said.
The moderator asked Buttigieg if he was referring to Sanders, and he said, “Yes.”
Sanders fired back, arguing that he’s the candidate who has proven that he can draw in new people to the process, and that maximizing turnout on Election Day is the way to beat Trump.
“I believe that the way we beat Trump is by having the largest voter turnout in the history of this country and it’s appealing to working Ccass people who have given up on the political process because they don’t believe anyone is hearing their pain,” Sanders said.
The debate kicked off with a challenge to former Vice President Joe Biden about why he believes he’s the most electable candidate after finishing in fourth place in Iowa.
Biden acknowledged that he “took a hit” in Iowa, and he said that it might happen again to him in New Hampshire. But he said that the party would be taking a “risk” by nominating Buttigieg or Sanders.
“The president wants very much to stick a label on every candidate … Bernie has labeled himself, not me, democratic socialist, that’s the label the president will put on him … Mayor Buttigieg is a great guy … but he’s not demonstrated an ability and we’ll still find out, to have broad support among African Americans and Latinos,” Biden said.
Businessman Tom Steyer warned that unless the party nominates someone who can appeal to everyone, “we’ll lose to Trump,” underscoring the biggest fear Democrats have in picking a nominee.
“No question that after this week, there’s a real threat that Donald Trump can get reelected,” Steyer said.