HAMPTON � Pete Buttigieg told Granite State voters Tuesday he was as optimistic about winning the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, Feb. 11 as he was about the pending results from Monday's Iowa caucuses.

The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, had announced the night before he expected to win Iowa despite no official results being available due to the state Democratic Party's technical problems compiling them. Buttigieg touched on his prediction for victory at the Community Oven Tuesday by likening his effort in the presidential race in the Hawkeye State to his rise in the polls in New Hampshire since last year.

"Folks were questioning whether we even belonged in this race," Buttigieg told a packed crowd at the Route 1 restaurant. "As of yesterday, we have settled that question once and for all."

Buttigieg did not comment further on the results from Iowa during his stop in Hampton. He did not take questions from the media before going to an event in Portsmouth that afternoon.

Buttigieg had said Monday night ahead of any official results that "all indications" indicate a victory.

When Iowa's partial results were released Tuesday evening, they showed Buttigieg's confidence was justified: He was in first place, just ahead of Sen. Bernie Sanders with about 62 percent of precincts counted.

In Hampton, Buttigieg talked about the importance of defeating President Donald Trump, as well as his intent to protect the environment against climate change, support the legalization of recreational marijuana and choose diplomacy over military action when possible. He said he was hopeful New Hampshire voters would choose him at the polls next Tuesday, saying "there's still a lot of folks making up their minds.

"I'm meeting with so many independents who are frustrated and furious with what's going on in this White House," Buttigieg said. "They no longer want to live in a country where you struggle to look your kids in the eye when explaining this presidency."