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WEBVTT PRIMARY IN A LANDSLIDE IN 2016. >> THANK YOU, NEW HAMPSHIRE. ADAM: IT WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST VICTORIES IN FIRST IN THE NATION PRIMARY HISTORY. IN 2016, BERNIE SANDERS BLEW OUT HILLARY CLINTON IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. NEWS 9 SPOKE WITH THE VERMONT SENATOR AS HE LAUNCHED HIS 2020 CAMPAIGN TUESDAY, AND HE SAYS ONCE AGAIN, THE GRANITE STATE IS CRUCIAL TO HIS PATH TO THE WHITE HOUSE. >> IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING NEW HAMPSHIRE IS ENORMOUSLY IMPORTANT, AND I WANT TO THANK THE PEOPLE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE WHO IN 2016 NOT ONLY GAVE US A VERY STRONG VICTORY, BUT SHOWED THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT THE IDE WE WERE FIGHTING FOR, ALL OF THOSE IDEAS I BROUGHT TO NEW HAMPSHIRE THREE YEARS AGO, THEY WERE AT THAT POINT CONSIDERE RADICAL AND EXTREME. THE PEOPLE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE SAID DIFFERENTLY. ADAM: 2020 IS NOT 2016. THIS TIME AROUND, A LARGE AND GROWING FIELD OF DIVERSE CANDIDATES ARE ALREADY BUILDING THEIR CAMPAIGNS HERE. BUT WHEN WE ASKED SANDERS ABOUT THE DYNAMICS OF THIS RACE, HE NOTED THAT THE IDEAS MANY CANDIDATES ARE RUNNING ON, LIKE PUBLICLY FUNDED HEALTHCARE AND ELECTIONS, HE’S BEEN TOUTING FOR DECADES. >> WELL OBVIOUSLY A RACE WHICH HAS 10 OR 15 PEOPLE IS A VERY DIFFERENT RACE THAN A RACE THAT HAS ONE. I HOPE THE PEOPLE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE WILL TAKE A LOOK AT MY EXPERIENCE, WILL TAKE A LOOK AT HOW LONG I’VE BEEN FIGHTING F THESE IDEAS. THESE ARE NOT NEW IDEAS FOR ME. ADAM: IN INTENSE RACE JUST REACHED ANOTHER LEVEL FOR 2020. FOR MORE REACTION FROM DEMOCRATS AND LEFT-LEANING INDEPENDENTS, THAT’S GO TO JENNIFER CROMPTON. JENNIFER: EVEN DIEHARD SANDERS SUPPORTERS SAY THIS WILL BE MUCH TOUGHER THAN 2016, WHEN IT WAS BASICALLY A TWO PERSON PRIMARY. AND PROGRESSIVE IDEAS THAT SEEMED NEW AND DIFFERENT THEN, ARE NOW ESSENTIALLY SHARED BY MOST OF A GROWING FIELD OF 12. WHEN SHE GOT THE WORD, SALME PERRY HAULED A 2016 CAMPAIGN SIGN FROM HER BARN. THE ROLLINSFORD DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR EXCITED TO SUPPORT SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS FOR ANOTHER PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY RUN. >> HE HAS CHANGED THE CONVERSATION IN THIS COUNTRY JUST AMAZINGLY. JENNIFER: SHE ADMITS GRASSROOTS EFFORTS WILL BE TOUGHER THIS TIME AROUND, GIVEN HOW MANY OTHER PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS ARE RUNNING, BUT IS CONFIDENT HE’LL PREVAIL. >> HE IS THE REAL DEAL. YOU HAVE GOT TO GO BACK TO WHO HE IS. HE IS SO AUTHENTIC. JENNIFER: BUT DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEEWOMAN KATHY SULLIVAN BELIEVES SANDERS WON THE PRIMARY HERE IN BECAUSE 2016 VOTERS WANTED SOMEBODY NEW DIFFERENT -- NEW AND DIFFERENT AND NOT HILARY CLINTON. >> THINK WILL BE MORE DIFFICULT FOR HIM BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT MORE PEOPLE AND PEOPLE WILL BE LOOKING AT DIFFERENT CANDIDATES. JENNIFER: THE UNH STUDENT NEWSPAPER WILL ROLL OUT ITS FIRST PRIMARY COVERAGE THIS WEEK BUT EVEN IN A TOWN WHERE SANDERS , BE CLINTON TO-ONE AND’S -- TO-ONE IN 2016, HE IS NOT A SHOE IN. >> IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE A WOMAN IN POWER. >> IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE HOW PEOPLE LIKE SANDERS AND JOE BIDEN FARE AGAINST RELATIVE NEWCOMERS TO THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE. JENNIFER: KATHY SULLIVAN SAYS SANDERS’S BAR IS SET HIGH, AND BELIEVES THAT IF HE DOESN’T WIN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY AGAIN, HIS CAMPAIGN WIL

Advertisement Bernie Sanders calls NH 'enormously important' to his presidential hopes in 2020 Vermont senator makes it official Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont realizes that New Hampshire is crucial to how he fares in his second bid for the presidency. Sanders made it official Tuesday morning: He's running.The 2016 New Hampshire Democratic primary landslide winner announced his plans in a lengthy email to supporters and a nearly 11-minute video.WMUR reported Monday night that the email announcement would be made on Tuesday. That initial report is below.Sanders won the New Hampshire primary three years ago by a margin of 60 percent to 38 percent over eventual nominee Hillary Clinton.With well more than a dozen Democrats either running or likely to get into the race, he is clearly not expected to match the 2016 showing against a single major competitor. But a win is viewed as a must.Sanders, in an interview, told WMUR, "It goes without saying that New Hampshire is enormously important." He said that in 2016, New Hampshire voters "showed the American people that the ideas we were fighting for" -- including Medicare for all, health care as a right, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, free college tuition -- were not "radical and extreme."Now, in 2019, “That is what the American people are saying. These are not radical ideas. These are not extreme ideas. These are ideas that we should be implementing."As for the dynamics of the current race, Sanders said, "Obviously, a race that has 10 or 15 people is very different than a race that has one. I hope the people of New Hampshire will take a look at my experience, will take a look at how long I have been fighting for these ideas. These are not new ideas to me.”Sanders said the most important consideration for voters is to choose a candidate who can beat the current president in the general election."We must defeat Donald Trump, who to my mind is a pathological liar, he is a racist, he is a sexist, he is a homophobe, he is a xenophobe. He is uniquely in our lifetimes the only president who has tried to divide the American people up, rather than bring them together.”But he said his campaign goes further, and "is about transforming our country and creating a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice."In his video, Sanders promises to take on "the powerful special interests that dominate our economic and political life. I'm talking about Wall Street, the health insurance companies, the drug companies, the fossil fuel industry, the military industrial complex, the private prison industry and the large multinational corporations that exert such an enormous influence over our lives."He talks about ending "voter suppression," overturning the Citizens United 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision and ending "outrageous levels of gerrymandering."The self-described democratic socialist says his campaign is focused on "creating a government and economy that work for the many, not just the few. We are the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. We should not have grotesque levels of wealth inequality in which three billionaires own more wealth than the bottom half of the country."“I’m very excited to get started on the road to getting Bernie Sanders elected president,” said Kurt Ehrenberg, Sanders’ 2016 New Hampshire campaign political director and still a top supporter. Ehrenberg spoke with WMUR following the announcement.“I know that many other Granite Staters feel the same way. We’re going to win the primary and the nomination. I’m confident of that,” Ehrenberg said.Sanders' 2016 primary win extended the nomination battle virtually all the way to the Democratic National Convention, split the Democratic Party -- which Sanders charged had rigged the nomination in Clinton's favor -- and prompted changes in national party rules, essentially weakening the authority of national convention super delegates.Meanwhile, sources told WMUR on Tuesday that Sanders is expected to campaign in New Hampshire in early March, although the schedule has not yet been finalized.(Our earlier report published Monday night follows.)Bernie Sanders is getting ready for a second run for president. WMUR has learned that an email announcing the Vermont senator's plans to run for president is expected to be sent to his supporters on Tuesday.Sanders made the announcement on Vermont Public Radio Tuesday morning.A key Sanders supporter told WMUR that one of Sanders’ closest advisors informed the supporter that the announcement will be made in an email. It was not made clear to the supporter whether it will be an outright announcement of a candidacy or an announcement of an exploratory committee.The Hill on Saturday, citing two people familiar with the plan, reported that an announcement of an exploratory would be made this week. Politico reported on Saturday that Sanders has recorded a video in which he says he is running for president.The Sanders supporter who spoke with WMUR was unsure if the email announcement will include the video, although the supporter said it is likely. The supporter said also plans for at least one announcement speech, if not two, are in the works.Sanders won the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation primary in 2016 by a margin of 60 percent to 38 percent over Hillary Clinton.There has been mounting speculation that Sanders would make a second run. WMUR's New Hampshire Primary Source column reported on Feb. 8 that it was becoming increasingly clear to Sanders supporters that Sanders would make an announcement before the end of February, and that it was more likely than not even at that point that hw would run. Sanders, 77, lost a hard-fought battle with Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination three years ago. Now, he will find himself in a much different race -- a crowded field with much more age, gender, racial and ethnic diversity. So far, nine Democrats have formally declared candidacies while two more have formed exploratory committees, which is a formality and as a practical matter is no different than a full-fledged candidacy.Nearly 20 other Democrats have said they are considering running, most prominently, former Vice President Joe Biden and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.For WMUR's complete list of "The Ones to Watch," click here.