SOMERSWORTH, New Hampshire (AP) 鈥� With questions swirling about the long-term viability of his campaign, Joe Biden sharply criticized two of his top rivals on Wednesday, suggesting Sen. Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist, was unelectable, while 38-year-old Pete Buttigieg would be a risky and inexperienced choice.
“If Sen. Sanders is the nominee for the party, every Democrat in America up and down the ballot, in blue states, red states, purple states and easy districts and competitive ones, every Democrat will have to carry the label Senator Sanders has chose for himself,鈥� the former vice president said during a campaign event in New Hampshire, where voters will go to the polls next Tuesday. 鈥淚 don’t criticize him, he calls himself a Democratic socialist. Well, we’re already seeing what Donald Trump is going to do with that.”
Biden said he had 鈥済reat respect” for Buttigieg, but didn’t think the Democrats’ standard-bearer against President Donald Trump should be someone who hasn’t been elected to a higher office than mayor of South Bend, Indiana, a city of about 100,00.
鈥淚t’s a risk, to be just straight up with you,鈥� he said.
The tough talk comes as Biden’s third presidential bid enters a critical stretch. He needs to bounce back from what partial results suggest could be a disappointing finish in Monday’s Iowa caucuses. Biden trailed Buttigieg and Sanders, according to initial returns from 71% of precincts. He was running fourth, close to Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who just days ago polled in single digits.
That leaves some establishment Democrats, including some Biden supporters, questioning his contention that he’ll reclaim clear front-runner status in the race against Trump once the primary fight moves beyond overwhelmingly white Iowa and New Hampshire to more racially diverse electorates. And it’s a reminder of how Biden’s previous presidential campaigns never advanced beyond Iowa.
鈥淚f he came in fourth, yeah, that could hurt,鈥� said Bill Freeman, a Biden donor from Nashville, Tennessee, who added that he hadn鈥檛 even considered such a possibility heading into Monday鈥檚 caucuses. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a bad night, no matter how you spin it.鈥�
Most precarious for Biden: Some of the would-be donors he could win over with a strong showing are giving new looks to Mike Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor whose entire strategy of sitting out the four early nominating states is pegged to the possibility that Biden falters. Bloomberg, one of the world鈥檚 wealthiest men with a net worth approaching $60 billion, isn鈥檛 asking for money. He鈥檚 simply looking for support that could cut off financial lifelines to Biden, whose campaign reported just $9 million cash on hand to start the year.
That’s patronage Biden needs to remain competitive with Buttigieg, as well as Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sanders, who have raised massive sums from small-dollar online contributors who have been far less generous to Biden.
Alex Sink, a Democratic donor who hosted Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race, said many donors are holding back, waiting to see how Biden does. They are also keeping an open mind about Bloomberg, whose campaign asked Sink last week to attend an event in Tampa.
鈥淚 was anxious to do it because, like so many others, I鈥檓 curious and interested and worried about who our candidate will be and how we are going to beat Trump,鈥� she said. 鈥淢ost of my friends don鈥檛 know yet who they are voting for.”
In New Hampshire on Tuesday, Biden insisted he had a 鈥済ood night鈥� in Iowa. But he was more frank Wednesday during the event in Somersworth.
鈥淚 am not going to sugarcoat it, we took a gut punch in Iowa,” Biden said. 鈥淏ut look, this isn鈥檛 the first time in my life I鈥檝e been knocked down.”
Biden aides have said for months that he didn鈥檛 have to win in Iowa or on Feb. 11 in New Hampshire because he was better positioned in Nevada鈥檚 Feb. 22 caucuses, South Carolina鈥檚 Feb. 29 primary and a slate of March 3 primaries with more than a third of Democrats鈥� national delegates at stake on a single day.
That never meant, however, that Biden could sustain a bad showing in Iowa and New Hampshire. The approach was also an expensive one, requiring deep campaign reserves to finance advertising and staffing in Nevada, South Carolina and delegate-rich states like California and Texas.
Biden has a campaign footprint across the March primary map, with paid staff or volunteer offices in 13 states. But his cash flow raises questions about how much he can bolster his existing operation. His uneasy financial situation is underscored by an affiliated super PAC that spent more on Iowa ads than the campaign itself, but still has struggled to raise money and has little left over after Iowa.
鈥淲ill he have as much money as Bernie Sanders? Probably no. But it doesn’t matter 鈥� all you need is enough gas to finish the race,鈥� said John Morgan, a Florida plaintiffs attorney and one of Biden鈥檚 top fundraisers.
Freeman and Morgan agreed that Biden needs to finish in the top three in New Hampshire and ideally as the top moderate. That reflects what had been the quiet hope of Biden鈥檚 team heading into Monday鈥檚 Iowa caucuses. They didn鈥檛 necessarily expect to win outright. But they hoped that they could emerge from Iowa as the clear alternative to Sanders, a democratic socialist and leader of the left鈥檚 progressive base.
An effectively two-person race between Sanders and the former vice president, Biden confidants believed, would open the financial spigot, firm up his advantages among nonwhite voters and win over skeptical white moderates now aligned with Buttigieg or Klobuchar.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 my conversation with people: If Bernie Sanders is the nominee, would you vote for him?鈥� Morgan said. 鈥淚f not, then back Joe.鈥�
Biden took the same approach Tuesday on the campaign trail, hammering Sanders as directly as he has in weeks. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to get real about health care,鈥� he said as he compared his proposal to expand existing insurance markets with a 鈥減ublic option” with Sanders鈥� 鈥淢edicare for All鈥� idea. Sanders has been pushing single-payer insurance for 鈥�30 years now,鈥� Biden said, and 鈥漢asn’t moved it an inch.”
The problem, Freeman said, is that a lackluster start in Iowa makes the Biden-Sanders juxtaposition a much harder sell. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think any of those conversations are happening today鈥� with potential new donors, he said.
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Slodysko reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Hunter Woodall in Somersworth, N.H., and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.
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