Hillary Clinton said her campaign received a boost from her razor-thin victory in Iowa but cautioned against making any predictions for New Hampshire — which she called Bernie Sanders’ “backyard” — during an interview on MSNBC Tuesday.
“Everybody said if there were a big turnout, that would advantage Sen. Sanders. There was a big turnout, and we won,” Clinton told Chris Matthews.
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Clinton eked out a victory in what was the closest Democratic caucus in Iowa’s history. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who trailed Clinton in the Hawkeye State for most of the campaign, called the results a “virtual tie.”
While turnout of more than 170,000 Democratic caucus-goers exceeded participation from 2004, it fell well short of the record-setting 240,000 in 2008.
“I was thrilled by winning and getting that boost out of Iowa here in New Hampshire where I am in Sen. Sanders’ backyard, as you know, as a political expert of your many years, that New Hampshire votes for neighbors,” she added.
Sanders holds an edge in New Hampshire, where his New England roots have helped promote him ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary. Clinton and her allies have downplayed her chances for a victory in the state, arguing that voters there tend to favor candidates from their neck of the woods.
Clinton became the first woman to win a presidential primary in 2008 when she mounted a come-back victory over Barack Obama in 2008. Eight years later, Clinton said he campaign is in a much better place. “The level of enthusiasm, people who were with me before, people who were with President Obama in ’08, everybody working so hard to support me, to get to that primary, to do everything we possibly can,” Clinton told Matthews. “We’re not leaving anything on the ground,” she said. “We’re moving forward. And I think we’ll do well.” This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.
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