NASHUA, N.H. – Former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg held the largest campaign rally in New Hampshire by a Democrat this election season when a crowd of more than 1,800 people showed up Sunday to hear him stump in Nashua.
Buttigieg, riding high after a strong performance in the Iowa caucuses last week, has been aiming to continue the momentum with a victory on Tuesday in the nation’s first primary election.
Buttigieg was sitting in second in an average of New Hampshire polls behind Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, but has been hoping to pull off another upset Tuesday.
While Buttigieg has held the largest rally of any Democrat in New Hampshire this election cycle, the record for the largest rally overall would still go to President Trump, who filled the Southern New Hampshire University Arena in downtown Manchester last August for a campaign rally.
That rally saw around 11,000 people inside the arena and a large overflow crowd outside.
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Trump is set to return to that exact same arena for another rally Monday night on the eve of the primary.
The Buttigieg campaign has flooded the Granite State in the run-up to Tuesday’s primary with the mayor himself attending six events on Saturday ahead of his appearance Sunday on six morning political news shows.
“We are building the movement that is going to defeat Donald Trump,” Buttigieg told “Fox News Sunday.” “I want everybody to help out.”
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Buttigieg on Saturday encountered loud chants of “Wall Street Pete” and “Medicare-for-all” from Sanders supporters making their presence known with blinking pink “Bernie” signs. Buttigieg's supporters, in yellow T-shirts and armed with noisemakers, began loud chants of “Boot-Edge-Edge” and waved blue and yellow signs as Sanders declared victory in Iowa, citing the popular vote.
The Associated Press has not called a winner in the contest, but Buttigieg and Sanders were leading, and both have taken on strength in recent days.
Fox News' Chris Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.