Democrats hold final debate ahead of New Hampshire primary

Democratic presidential candidates will tangle on the debate stage on Friday as Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg seek to turn their strong Iowa performances into a win in the next nominating contest in New Hampshire.

Both Sanders, the leftist senator from Vermont, and Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, claimed victory in the chaotic Iowa caucuses and the pair are neck-and-neck in the polls heading into New Hampshire.

The Granite State holds a primary on Tuesday as the Democratic Party seeks to narrow down the crowded field and come up with an opponent to defeat President Donald Trump in November.

Seven Democratic candidates will take part in Friday night's televised three-hour debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, which begins at 8:00 pm (0100 GMT).

Besides Buttigieg and Sanders, former vice president Joe Biden, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, businessman Tom Steyer and entrepreneur Andrew Yang will be on the stage.

While Buttigieg, 38, and Sanders, 78, are seeking to capitalise on the momentum from Iowa, Biden is looking to limit the damage from his performance in the Midwestern farm state.

The latest New Hampshire poll spells trouble, however, for the 77-year-old Biden, who has topped national surveys since getting into the race but finished a dismal fourth in Iowa.

The Boston Globe/WBZ-TV/Suffolk University poll had Sanders, who won New Hampshire four years ago before losing the nomination to Hillary Clinton, topping the field with 24 per cent.

Buttigieg was next at 23 per cent, up from 11 per cent on Monday, while Biden saw his support fall to 11 per cent from 18 per cent over the same time period.

Amid his fading fortunes, Biden is expected to use the debate stage to step up his attacks on his rivals -- Buttigieg for his relative lack of experience and Sanders for his self-described democratic socialist label.

Addressing a military veterans group on Thursday, Buttigieg, who was deployed to Afghanistan as a US Navy intelligence officer, said it had been an "extraordinary week."
"But he is spending hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars to buy the election. There is something wrong with that."