Bernie Sanders: I hope the thought that I couldn’t compete against Hillary Clinton is gone

Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont said Tuesday he hopes his performance in the Iowa caucuses quashes the notion that he couldn’t win or compete against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic presidential race.

“For folks who did not think Bernie Sanders could win, that we could compete against Hillary Clinton, I hope that that thought is now gone,” Mr. Sanders said in an interview for CNN’s “New Day.” “We’re going to fight really hard in New Hampshire. And then we’re going to Nevada, we’re going to South Carolina. We look forward to doing well around the country.”

Mrs. Clinton’s campaign declared victory early Tuesday, and she held a lead of less than 1 percentage point over Mr. Sanders with nearly all the votes counted.

“Maybe we lost by two, maybe we lost by one, maybe by zero, whatever it may be,” Mr. Sanders said. “But what this shows is that this campaign has started, in a very forceful way, starting way, way back and coming to a virtual tie, and we are going to fight here in New Hampshire, look forward to winning here and doing well around the rest of the country.”