Joe Biden’s presidential campaign staff believe Biden will win the Democratic preliminaries in Iowa and New Hampshire and are already “ramping up” for Super Tuesday and beyond.
“Do I think we have to win Iowa? No,” a senior adviser said on Sept. 3 in a background briefing. He acknowledged, though, that Iowa will be “critical,” Politico reported.
“We think we’re going to win. We think it’s going to be a dogfight. … But we think there are several candidates in this field, there’s probably three or four, that are going to go awhile,” the campaign adviser continued.
The staffer pointed out that winning New Hampshire is going to be tougher for Biden, because “As you all know, historically, there’s an incredible home-field advantage for a Massachusetts candidate or a New Englander,” referring to Warren and Sanders, respectively.
The insider further shared his expectation that after the first two rounds, probably only a handful of candidates will remain to contend for the Democratic nomination to run for president. He even named them: Sanders, Warren, Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey, and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
But in the end, the Biden staff postulate, “all of the available evidence is [primary voters] believe that Biden is the person who is best positioned to beat Trump and the strongest candidate to beat Trump,” Fox News reported. “And that is a huge asset to have in this race.”
Democratic Presidential Race Is Down to Biden, Warren, and Sanders, Says Former Hillary Adviser
The race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination is likely down to candidates former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), according to former adviser to Hillary Clinton, Philippe Reines.
In an interview with Politico, Reines said that Sanders, Biden, and Warren are the only three candidates leading the polls above single digits in recent weeks.
With the exception of South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), remaining contenders have failed to catch up in terms of polling numbers and fundraising, he added.
C: Elizabeth Warren waves as she arrives to speak during a Labor Day house party in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, on Sept. 2, 2019. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
R: Bernie Sanders speaks during a U.S. Presidential Candidates Forum at the 2019 NABJ Annual Convention & Career Fair in Miami, Florida, on Aug. 8, 2019. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
“It was legitimate to say ‘Top 5’ for a long time, but with the exception of Kamala Harris being at the outer perimeter of the top three … you’d have to have a strange confluence of events for someone outside those four to win,” Reines told Politico.
“It would require all four failing. Like, you would need all four of them to be in a plane crash or something.”
Reines suggested it would be unlikely that other 2020 Democratic candidates would catch up with Sanders, Biden, and Warren, whose performances in the polls have been stable until now.
“It’s too late in the game to keep saying it’s too early,” Reines said of the remaining contenders.
Epoch Times reporter Isabel van Brugen contributed to this report314782419
