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Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

Buttigieg on defense as rivals aim to blunt his momentum

By THOMAS BEAUMONT | February 10, 2020

DOVER, N.H. (AP) — Pete Buttigieg spent Sunday on defense as his Democratic presidential rivals attacked him on everything from his struggle to connect with black voters to accepting campaign contributions from large donors in an effort to blunt any momentum heading into Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who essentially tied with Buttigieg in last week's Iowa caucuses, blasted the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, for taking contributions from the very wealthy, suggesting Buttigieg won't stand up to “Wall Street tycoons” or “the corporate elite.” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren voiced similar criticism, telling ABC's “This Week" that “the coalition of billionaires is not exactly what's going to carry us over the top." Former Vice President Joe Biden told the same program that Buttigieg hasn't been able to “unify the black community."

The volley of criticism was fresh evidence that Buttigieg, who was virtually unknown in national politics a year ago, has become an early front-runner in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination. The developments usher in a new phase of the campaign that will test how Buttigieg responds to the pressure, especially as the contest moves to more racially diverse states where he has struggled to gain traction.

Buttigieg hit back at Biden, who on Saturday lamented comparisons between the former mayor and former President Barack Obama.

“Oh, come on, man," Biden told reporters. “This guy's not a Barack Obama."

“Well, he's right, I'm not," Buttigieg responded on CNN's “State of the Union." “And neither is he. Neither is any of us running for president.”

He later offered an oblique critique of Sanders' combative call for revolution.

“Let's remember we're facing the most divisive president of our time, which is why we can't risk dividing Americans further,” Buttigieg told more than 1,800 people at an event in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Later in Dover, he declared himself the candidate on the rise. “We are the campaign with the strongest momentum in the state of New Hampshire, thanks to you,” he told a crowd of several hundred.

While responding to some of the attacks, Buttigieg didn't escalate any feuds on Sunday. That could help him maintain the energy of his optimistic Iowa campaign in which he portrayed himself as above the Washington fray.

“Part of the reason why he’s doing well is he’s got a pretty sunny and upbeat presentation,” said David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to Obama. “Tactically, I think it’s smart to handle it the way he’s handling it. We still don’t know what the impact any of this will have.”

But in a sign of potential hurdles ahead for Buttigieg, even voters in an overwhelmingly white state like New Hampshire said they wanted to see evidence that he could build relationships with people of color. Kim Holman of Brookline, New Hampshire, said she was undecided but leaning toward Buttigieg's "energy and passion." Yet his struggle so far especially with black voters weighs on her decision.

"It’s definitely a concern. New Hampshire is a super-white state," the 52-year-old personal trainer said. "I’m hoping he resonates more with people of color.”

Buttigieg's standing has posed a challenge to Sanders. The two contenders represent opposite ideological wings of the party, yet Sanders is under pressure to show that he can unify Democrats if he is the nominee. With that in mind, the progressive Vermont senator has sought to qualify his criticisms of Buttigieg.

When a Sanders supporter in Plymouth laughed at the mention of Buttigieg, Sanders interjected, “We're not here to denigrate Pete."

But Sanders nonetheless proceeded to blast Buttigieg's ties to large donors. And one of his most prominent surrogates, former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, ripped into both Buttigieg and billionaire former Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a separate event later Sunday.

She slammed Buttigieg for fundraising with billionaires in a wine cave featuring a Swarovsky crystal chandelier. And she laid into Bloomberg for skipping the early voting states and running a campaign funded by hundreds of millions of dollars of his personal fortune.

“Whose side are you on?” she repeatedly asked the crowd to cheers.

There were other awkward moments Sunday during the final stretch of the New Hampshire campaign. During a rally in the state capital of Concord, Warren declared, “It's up to you, Massachusetts."

During an event in Hampton, a woman asked Biden to explain his underperformance in Iowa. He said it was a good question, then asked her if she'd been to a caucus. When she said she had, Biden responded, “No, you haven't" and proceeded to call her “a lying, dog-faced pony soldier." The audience laughed during the exchange.

The chaos from the Iowa caucuses lingered over the New Hampshire contest. Problems with an app led to delays in results and prompted questions about the accuracy of the vote count. Nearly a week after the caucuses, The Associated Press hasn't declared a result.

In an interview on CNN's “State of the Union" on Sunday, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said he was “mad as hell" about the situation.

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Associated Press writer Kathleen Ronayne in Plymouth, N.H., contributed to this report.

Trump budget to face skepticism, overwhelming politics

By ANDREW TAYLOR | February 9, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — Confronted with the threat of trillion-dollar-plus deficits for as far as the eye can see, President Donald Trump is offering a $4.8 trillion budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year that rehashes previously rejected spending cuts...

Sanders to seek partial recanvass of Iowa caucus results

By ALEXANDRA JAFFE | February 9, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign plans to ask for a “partial recanvass” of the results of last week's Iowa caucuses.A campaign aide confirmed the plans Sunday night, ahead of a Monday deadline for candidates to ask the Iowa Democratic...

Klobuchar pushes to defy expectations in New Hampshire

By HOLLY RAMER | February 9, 2020

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Amy Klobuchar's campaign staff initially set up 250 chairs ahead of a Sunday rally at Southern New Hampshire University. But in the moments before the Minnesota senator arrived on campus, the aides scrambled to remove most of...

The Latest: Warren says she’s best positioned to beat Trump

February 9, 2020

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — The Latest on the 2020 Democratic presidential race and Tuesday's primary in New Hampshire (all times local):6:45 p.m.Elizabeth Warren is tweaking her standard campaign speech, saying that she’s in the best position to win...

US ambassador to Israel warns against West Bank annexation

February 9, 2020

JERUSALEM (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Israel has cautioned Israel against “unilateral action” in annexing West Bank settlements, warning that such a move could endanger the Trump administration's recently unveiled Mideast plan.Israeli Prime Minister...

Vote prediction for Sinn Fein puts Irish politics in turmoil

By DANICA KIRKA and NICOLAE DUMITRACHE | February 9, 2020

DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland faced political turmoil Sunday as an exit poll from the weekend’s parliamentary election suggested that Sinn Fein, a left-wing party committed to reunification of the island, finished in a virtual dead heat with the two parties...

NH poses a last chance for some struggling 2020 Democrats

By MICHAEL CASEY | February 9, 2020

PLYMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Bounding onto a stage at a conference center in New Hampshire, tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang beamed a smile to a cheering crowd and launched into his pitch for votes heading into Tuesday's first-in-the nation primary.Yang didn't...

Biden faces competition for black vote in his SC ‘firewall’

By MEG KINNARD | February 9, 2020

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Joe Biden is facing increasingly formidable competition in South Carolina, a state his campaign has long assumed was safely in his column and one he's repeatedly described as a “firewall" in his bid for the Democratic presidential...

Violence, intimidation threaten Cameroon’s legislative vote

By EDWIN KINDZEKA MOKI | February 9, 2020

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — A surge of violence derailed voting in Cameroon's English-speaking regions Sunday because residents were too scared to cast ballots in legislative and municipal elections after militant separatists kidnapped scores of candidates...

‘QAnon’ conspiracy theory creeps into mainstream politics

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN | February 9, 2020

MILWAUKEE (AP) — President Donald Trump was more than halfway through his speech at a rally in Milwaukee when one of his hand gestures caught the eye of a supporter standing in the packed arena.The 51-year-old woman believed the president had traced...

Azerbaijan voters choose new parliament in ex-Soviet nation

February 9, 2020

MOSCOW (AP) — Voters in Azerbaijan were choosing a new parliament Sunday in an early election after a short and low-key campaign.President Ilham Aliev, in power since 2003, called the election in early December after the parliament appealed to be dissolved...