Amy Klobachur insists she can beat Trump after finishing third in New Hampshire primary

Elizabeth Warren had kind words for her rival from Minnesota

Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar has insisted she can defeat Donald Trump in November, after she stormed to third place in New Hampshire and threw a lifeline to her campaign.

After coming fifth in Iowa, the 59-year-old badly needed a result in the Granite state if her long-shot presidential bid was to push forward.

She did that, pushing into a strong third place, behind Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg, but well clear of Elizabeth Warren.

In her speech to supporters, Ms Warren had praised Ms Klobuchar.

“I also want to congratulate my friend and colleague Amy Klobuchar for showing just how wrong the pundits can be when they count a woman out,” she said to loud applause.

And in turn, Ms Klobuchar praised Ms Warren.

“And as my friend Elizabeth noted earlier tonight, people told me — just like they told her — that they didn’t think a woman could be elected. In my case it was elected to the US Senate,” she said.

“No woman had ever done it before, but I came back. I defied expectations, and I won.”

In an interview last year with The Independent, Ms Klobuchar, who has pitched herself as a realistic Midwesterner who can win in the heartland, dismissed the idea the country would not elect a woman president.

“A lot of men have voted for women,” she said, asked by one man about a poll suggesting only 50 per cent of men would feel comfortable voting for a female commander-in-chief.

“[A lot of polls’ results] depend on the way questions are asked. I think we have to confront that in our head.”

She added: “And as I have said before, Nancy Pelosi beats Trump every single day.”