Bernie Sanders says his razor-thin contest against Hillary Clinton in Iowa is giving his campaign a “kick-start.” The Democratic presidential candidate says it shows the American people that “this is a campaign that can win.”

Sanders tells reporters traveling aboard his flight to New Hampshire early Tuesday that his message of addressing wealth inequality resonated with voters in Iowa. He predicts it will resonate in the early voting states of New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

Polls show the Vermont senator leading Clinton in New Hampshire. But Sanders would not say whether he considers anything less than victory there a successful outcome. He says his campaign is in it “for the long haul” and predicts that “we are going to win some states, we are going to lose some states.”

But Sanders says he took a “giant step” in Iowa to overcome doubts among voters that he could win a general election.

(AP)