NASHUA, N.H. – Encouraged by Marco Rubio’s stumbles, the Republicans’ second-tier candidates are seeing fresh hope for survival as they sprint to the finish line in New Hampshire. The Democrats’ Clinton-Sanders duel is veering into gender politics.
A day before the nation’s first primary, Donald Trump ramped up his schedule in the state where he’s poised to clinch his first victory Tuesday following a humbling second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses. The pressure on, he waxed confident about his ability to win as his GOP opponents mainly focused their attacks on each other.
The Democratic race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders swerved in a new direction after a pair of prominent Clinton supporters railed against female voters who are backing Sanders despite the prospect of electing the first female president. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said over the weekend that there was “a special place in hell” for women who don’t help women, while writer and famed feminist Gloria Steinem suggested women backing Sanders were doing so to meet boys.
Steinem sought to stem the criticism she got, apologizing in a Facebook post for suggesting young women weren’t serious about their political views.
“Young women are active, mad as hell about what’s happening to them,” Steinem wrote. “Whether they gravitate to Bernie or Hillary, young women are activist and feminist in greater numbers than ever before.”
Sanders, cruising toward a likely first win in New Hampshire, seemed uneager to call more attention to the issue. Yet the dust-up spoke to the underlying concern among many Clinton backers that the former first lady isn’t securing the levels of support among women her campaign had anticipated considering the historic nature of her candidacy.
Unpredictable and known for last-minute decisions, New Hampshire voters had been expected to help winnow the crowded Republican primary, clarifying which of the candidates would emerge as the strongest alternative to front-runners Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. But a shaky debate performance by Sen. Marco Rubio, who gained fresh interest after placing third in Iowa, offered new hopes to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, suggesting a longer battle slog for the GOP that could extend after New Hampshire into South Carolina, Nevada and beyond.
Rubio, who was roundly mocked for reciting rote talking points over and over in Saturday’s debate, was working to flip the script, arguing that if he sounded repetitive, it was only because he was consistent.
“Voters across the country and especially here in New Hampshire got to hear me say repeatedly the truth: that Barack Obama is trying to redefine the role of government in our country and America’s role in the world,” Rubio said Monday on “CBS This Morning.”
Lederman reported from Washington.
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