Hide Transcript Show Transcript

BELIEVES IT’S OLD-SCHOOL CAMPAIGNING THAT’S MAKING THE DIFFERENCE. [APPLAUSE] ADAM: IN LACONIA, TULSI GABBARD FACED ONE OF THE CRUCIAL QUESTIONS OF THIS DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY -- WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP? REP. GABBARD: HERE’S THE PROBLEM WITH THAT ARGUMENT, IS WHEN YOU SEPARATE ONE’S DESIRE TO DEFE DONALD TRUMP FROM THE REASON WHY TRUMP WON IN THE FIRST PLACE THEN YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO GET THE ANSWER THAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR. ADAM: GABBARD SAYS ONE ANSWER IS FOR DEMOCRATS TO GET BEHIND A CANDIDATE WHO CAN UNIFY BOTH PARTY AND COUNTRY. IT’S A TALL ORDER, AND THE HAWAII CONGRESSWOMAN IS TAKING WHAT SHE CALLS AN OLD-SCHOOL APPROACH TO MAKING HER CASE. YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED, SHE’S ONE OF THE ONLY CANDIDATES TO INVEST HEAVILY IN SIGNS. REP. GABBARD: AS WE’VE SEEN IN TOWN HALL AFTER TOWN HALL, WE HAVE PEOPLE COME IN AND SAY, "HEY I’VE SEEN A BUNCH OF YARD SIGNS POP UP IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, AND I WANTED TO KNOW MORE." ADAM: HER FOLLOWING IS ECLECTIC, SHE WELCOMES INDEPENDENTS AND LIBERTARIANS DRAWN IN BY HER ANTI-WAR MESSAGE. >> AUTHENTICITY WITH A CAPITAL A. AND SHE’S FEARLESS. SHE’S HONEST. ADAM: WHILE GABBARD HAS SHOWN SOME MOVEMENT IN THE POLLS, SHE DOESN’T THINK THEY GIVE AN ACCURATE PICTURE OF JUST HOW MUCH THIS RACE COULD CHANGE IN THESE FINAL MONTHS OF THE CAMPAIGN. REP. GABBARD: THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS THAT I’M NOT AS FAMOUS AS JOE BIDEN OR BERNIE SANDERS, REALLY. IF YOU LOOK AT A LOT OF THE POLLS THAT COME OUT, THEY ARE NOT REALLY POLLS THAT ARE MEASURING ANYTHING BUT NAME RECOGNITION AND WHO IS MOST WELL-KNOWN. ADAM: WHICH MEANS YOU’LL BE SEEING A LOT MORE OF THE CANDIDATE, AND THE SIGNS, AS WE GET CLOSER TO FEBRUA

Advertisement Gabbard credits 'old-school campaigning' with helping her profile rise in NH Democratic presidential candidate says she can unify party, country Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard said Wednesday she believes "old-school campaigning" is helping her move up in the field in New Hampshire.>> Download the FREE WMUR appIn Laconia, the Hawaii congresswoman faced one of the crucial questions of the Democratic primary: What makes her think she can defeat President Donald Trump?"Here's the problem with that argument," she said. "When you separate one's desire to defeat Donald Trump from the reason why Trump won in the first place, then you're never going to get the answer that you're looking for."Gabbard said one answer is for Democrats to get behind a candidate who can unify the party and the country. She said it's a tall order, and she's taking what she called an old-school approach to make her case. As an example, she's one of the only candidates to invest heavily in signs."As we've seen in town hall after town hall, we have people come in and say, 'Hey. I've seen a bunch of yard signs pop up in my neighborhood, and I wanted to know more,'" Gabbard said.Her following is eclectic, welcoming independents and libertarians who say they're drawn in by her antiwar message."Authenticity with a capital A," said John Odiorne, of Laconia. "She's fearless. She's honest."While Gabbard has shown some movement in the polls, she said she doesn't think they give an accurate picture of how the race could change in the final months of the campaign."The biggest challenge is that I'm not as famous as Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders, really," she said. "If you look at a lot of the polls that come out, they are not really polls that are measuring anything but name recognition and who is most well-known."She said New Hampshire voters should expect to see a lot more of her as the New Hampshire primary approaches in February.