Joe Biden’s presidential campaign said the 2020 front-runner still has a path to the nomination if he does not win the Iowa caucuses.
“Do I think we have to win Iowa? No,” a senior adviser told campaign reporters during a background briefing on Tuesday.
“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 adviser said, according to Politico.
The adviser admitted Iowa, which is first to hold its caucus, will be “critical.”
Biden’s campaign also downplayed expectations in New Hampshire, the first primary in the nominating contest.
“As you all know, historically, there’s an incredible home field advantage for a Massachusetts candidate or a New Englander,” an adviser said, referring to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The campaign also said it was “ramping up for Super Tuesday and beyond” and it does not expect other top tier candidates — including Warren, Sanders, California Sen. Kamala Harris, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg — to drop out until later primaries.
Biden, 76, has an 8-point lead on Warren, his closest competitor in Iowa, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polling data. Biden has a less than 2-point advantage over Sanders in New Hampshire, according to RealClearPolitics data.
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