Democrats 'Feel the Bern' in New Hampshire

Survey averages ahead of tomorrow's primary put the former vice-president fourth on about 12 per cent, while small-town mayor Pete Buttigieg is in second on about 20 per cent and Senator Sanders is in the lead on 26 per cent.

In recent days, the race's two new leaders have come under sustained attack from other candidates desperate to claw back some ground.

Mr Buttigieg copped criticism for his lack of national political experience, Senator Sanders for the enormous cost of some of his sweeping policy proposals.

But the rise of the two relative outsiders seems to be further evidence of a broad desire for a change to the political status quo.

At events across New Hampshire — and indeed the rest of the country — establishment figures don't seem to be attracting the same crowds or getting the same raucous receptions.

At a rally in snowy Claremont, some Sanders supporters mutter darkly to us about the "mainstream media", when we ask about their candidate's electability.

The fans who will speak with us are uniformly scathing of any criticism from moderates.

"The moderates are the reason Donald Trump won," Sanders supporter Ashley Andreas said.

"Bernie is our chance for change. He's kind of the left, mirror image of Trump.

"Trump operates off hate and divisiveness and Bernie's message is about love and unity and bringing everyone into the party."

An emboldened Trump looms over the primary race

When this Democratic primary process began with the first debates in Miami last year, optimism was in the air. Now the race seems to have taken on a more jittery, high-stakes feel.

Those on either side of the party's ideological divide are united in their worries about the damage a long, drawn-out process of picking a presidential candidate could cause.

After such a divisive period of politics in Washington, they also fear a certain apathy among voters.

In New Hampshire, there are plenty trying to tune the whole process out.

"There are a lot of people looking for attention," said Joshua Stocker, who we met while he was ice-fishing with his son.

"We're inundated with ads and phone calls, it's a lot to take so I just try to ignore it."

But the biggest worry for Democrats is Trump, whose approval ratings seem to have risen after surviving a historic impeachment trial.

The Commander in Chief lost New Hampshire to Hillary Clinton by less than 3,000 votes in 2016 and is campaigning here in an attempt to tilt it into the Republican column.

Unsurprisingly, he's taken to Twitter to label the Democratic race "boring" and tried to exploit concerns about the lengthy delays in reporting last week's Iowa caucus results.

US politics needs to contend with a 'brave new world'

Veteran campaign strategist James Carville feels a strong, middle-of-the-road candidate is best positioned to unite the party against Mr Trump.

"We've got to decide what we want to be," Mr Carville told MSNBC.

"Do we want to be an ideological cult or do we have a majoritarian instinct to be a major party?"

He masterminded former president Bill Clinton's 1992 victory and has endorsed Senator Bennet for president.

"We don't need to become the British Labor Party. That's a bad thing. It's not going well over there," Mr Carville said.

"This party needs to wake up."

Yet, even with support from ideological gurus like Mr Carville, Senator Bennet is aware he has an uphill battle to win the nomination.

He suggests social media and cable TV are partly responsible for stoking divides and anti-establishment fervour.

"I think it's forcing people to more extreme positions in some cases," he said.

"We're living in a brave new world, we need politics that will contend with that."

But the senator insists despite constant talk of political polarisation, the nation is much more united than is often portrayed.

He holds out hope that after November's election, there will be more focus on passing legislation that deals with the issues facing everyday Americans.

"We need a leader who can make it happen," he said.

"I think the American people largely agree on a lot of issues, I don't think we're as divided as a lot of Washington is."