Former Vice President Joe Biden appeared to downplay his fourth-place finish in last week’s Iowa caucuses during an interview on CBS News the day before the New Hampshire primary.
After saying that he “feels good” about his campaign’s work in New Hampshire, Biden replied that “we are just getting into the game here” when asked about the possibility of coming in fourth place again.
The former vice president’s campaign has been tamping down expectations ahead of the second primary contest, where Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) appears to be the favorite. Another disappointing showing for Biden could imperil his campaign before the contest moves onto other, more diverse states.
Voters in New Hampshire will head to the polls starting at midnight tonight for tomorrow's primary. Former Vice President @JoeBiden hopes to boost his chances ahead of the vote.
Biden joins us now from Nashua, New Hampshire. pic.twitter.com/669N5oIADX
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) February 10, 2020
CBS News’ Tony Dokoupil pointed out how no presidential candidate has won the nomination without finishing in the top two in Iowa and New Hampshire, before asking Biden why other voters outside of New Hampshire should listen to him.
“Because the other voters out there represent a significant portion of the American people and they look like America,” Biden said.
Biden campaign senior adviser Symone Sanders shared a similar sentiment during an interview with CNN Monday morning, saying that “whatever happens on Tuesday, Vice President Biden will still be in this race.”
“But again, regardless of what happens, we believe and we have said for a long time, that this race absolutely runs to Nevada, South Carolina, and Super Tuesday,” Sanders added. “It would be a mistake for the media to try to count Joe Biden out before other folks in this party have had their chance to have their say in this race.”
Watch Sanders’ remarks on CNN below:
Symone Sanders: "Whatever happens on Tuesday, Vice President Biden will still be in this race." pic.twitter.com/pVfheDekdX
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) February 10, 2020
Sanders seemed to piggyback on her comments to CNN during an interview on MSNBC later Monday, denying that Biden already ruled out a strong finish in New Hampshire in his opening remarks during Friday’s Democratic debate. Sanders said Biden was simply “acknowledging realities that it is going to be a fight here.”
“It’s hard with two home state senators, but we are competing. Frankly, if we were conceding New Hampshire, Vice President Biden would still not be there,” Sanders said, before citing how Biden spent last week “vigorously campaigning” in the state. “We believe we’re going to be competitive.”
Sanders added that the campaign also believes that “this process should not and frankly will not be decided by simply after Iowa and New Hampshire.”
Watch Sanders’ remarks on MSNBC below:
Symone Sanders says if the Biden campaign didn't think he'd be competitive in New Hampshire, he wouldn't still be there pic.twitter.com/7gMfYAJ98J
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) February 10, 2020
When TPM reached out to the Biden campaign for comment, spokesperson TJ Ducklo pointed to statements that deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield made in an interview with Bloomberg News in Manchester Monday morning.
“We believe that regardless of what happens tomorrow night, we’re going to continue on with our plans to compete hard in Nevada, South Carolina, Super Tuesday and beyond,” Bedingfield told Bloomberg News.
Bedingfield added that Biden has made “very clear that he’s fighting for every vote here in New Hampshire” and that she’s confident that the former vice president will pull through in South Carolina even if he gets a New Hampshire primary result similar to his fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses.
