Campaigning in Dover, New Hampshire, former Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged the challenge of his strong lead in the Democratic primary.
"The good news about being a front-runner is you're a front-runner," he said. "The bad news about being a front-runner, everyone's behind you, and looking. You know what I mean?"
The latest poll shows Biden with 26%, Sen. Elizabeth Warren with 19%, Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Bernie Sanders tied with 13%, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 7%.
"I'd rather be there than anywhere else, I get it," Biden said. "But, you know, it's amazing. You know, the last thing we need, to use Barack's phrase, is to form a circular firing squad here."
Biden's message was a warning to Democrats that the 2020 election is a "battle for the soul of America" and that Democrats must prevent President Donald Trump from getting a second term.
"We can get by the first four here. It will go down as an aberration in American history. It's going to take a lot of work, stitching back to gather our alliances," he said.
Biden said he is the candidate who will bring back a strong middle and working class. But is that the message liberal-leaning Democratic primary voters want to hear, with other candidates promising Medicare for all, free public college and a tax on the ultra wealthy?
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"I just don't get the sense that that's the position that most Democratic voters are in right now. They want blood," said University of New Hampshire political analyst Andy Smith. "Beating Donald Trump is something that they'll worry about next. Right now, I think they're looking for ideological purity from their candidate."
Biden also received the endorsement of New Hampshire's youngest state Representative, 20-year-old Dennis Ruprecht.