Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders vie for New Hampshire Democrats
On the heels of a recent CBS News poll showing Hillary Clinton trailing behind Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire, the Clinton campaign arrived with a full show of force at the state's Democratic convention Saturday.
The first in a presidential lineup speaking at the gathering, Clinton made a strong appeal to the middle class, accusing Republicans of ignoring all but the nation's wealthiest.
"The Republicans' positions are not just factually inaccurate -- they are deeply out of touch and out of date," Clinton told a cheering crowd. Referring to Wednesday's GOP debate, she said that there were certain issues Republicans completely missed.
"Not one of them offered a plan to make college more affordable," the former first lady said. "Did you hear anything about family leave? What about putting an end to the gun violence that plagues our communities?"
Clinton did, however, praise one Republican on last week's debate stage.
"There was one statement I had to agree with. Yeah. Hard to believe, right?" she said. "As Lindsey Graham said, Hillary Clinton has a list a mile long to help the middle class."
The presidential hopeful refrained from attacking her fellow Democratic candidates, instead specifically hitting opponents like GOP front-runner Donald Trump.
"When you hear Mr. Trump saying he wants to make America great again," Clinton said, "respond America is great -- we just need to make it work for all the people."
Her usual stump speech was also peppered with promises to address issues like substance abuse and college debt, popular topics in New Hampshire.
The candidate most popular in the state, Sanders, also took the stage Saturday, calling for a "revolution" that would upend politics as usual.
"We need a political movement in this country which takes on the economic and political establishment, not one which is part of it," the Vermont senator said. "We need a movement which tells corporate America and the wealthiest people in this country that yes, they will start paying their fair share of taxes."
Sanders emphasized the middle class and his work to improve it, saying he was "proud to stand with the working families of our country and prepared to take on the powerful special interests."
"That is what I did yesterday. That is what I did 25 years ago. That is what I'll do tomorrow," he said.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley spoke to a significantly thinner crowd after Clinton's address. He too attacked Republican candidates and addressed their nationally televised debates, condemning "that racist, anti-immigrant carnival barker, Donald Trump."
Later, O'Malley remarked to reporters that Democrats "should not let the Republican debates go unanswered," calling for the party to schedule more debates before the primary season began in earnest.
Earlier in the day, Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was heckled by convention-goers over that same issue. While introducing herself to the crowd, Wasserman Schultz was interrupted by an audience loudly chanting, "We need debates. We need more debates."
Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee also spoke at the convention, where he stressed foreign policy more than any of his fellow candidates and mentioned his vote against the Iraq war.
"Doesn't it make sense that someone that saw through all the lies of going into Iraq should be someone that you would trust to help solve this chaos that spread from Pakistan to Nigeria?" Chafee said.
CBS News digital journalists Hannah Fraser-Chanpong and Jacqueline Alemany contributed to this report.