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Pete Buttigieg Tries To Sway Undecided Voters At N.H. Town Hall

CONCORD, N.H. (CBS) -- Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg took the stage and addressed his supporters Friday morning at a packed town hall in Concord, New Hampshire. The first in the nation primary is now just over three weeks away.

"The beauty of 2020 is this is the year that it is up to us," Buttigieg said.

The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor picked up the endorsement of New Hampshire Congresswoman Ann Kuster.

During the event, he talked about his support for healthcare reform, making the economy benefit all and the need to address climate change.

Buttigieg was briefly interrupted by protesters claiming he takes money from the fossil fuel industry.

"As the youngest candidate running for president I will be personally impacted by Americans' success or failure in dealing with the climate issue," he said.

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Pete Buttigieg at a town hall event in Concord, New Hampshire, Friday.

The latest poll has Buttigieg ranking second in New Hampshire with 18%. He said they plan to stick with an underdog mentality.

"We know we've got a winning message. It's brought us this far," he said. "We gotta make sure we're reaching everybody with that message before that voting begins."

WBZ-TV spoke with many voters at Buttigieg Town Hall who are still undecided with three weeks to go.

"He's on my top two, so I wanted to hear him speak," said Roberta Kieronski.

Nick Desautels is a Trump supporter, but he said he still wanted to hear what Buttigieg had to say.

"There's a lot more than you would think between a Buttigieg supporter and a Trump supporter that we can meet eye-to-eye on," Desautels said.

"We're tired of bickering. We're tired of the caustic and ineffective fighting that's going on in Washington," said Rev. Shayna Appel of Milford, New Hampshire, who made friends with Desautels at the event. "It's not serving anyone. It's not serving Nick. It's not serving me."

Friday was Buttigieg's 16th trip to New Hampshire since he jumped into the race, and he said he'll be here a lot more in the coming weeks.

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