UPDATE 3-Buttigieg likely to be target at New Hampshire Democratic presidential debate

After his better-than-expected showing in the Iowa caucuses, Pete Buttigieg is likely to draw the spotlight - and incoming fire - as Democratic presidential contenders debate on Friday in New Hampshire just days before the state's pivotal primary. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, eked out a win over U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders in Iowa, according to the state Democratic Party's complete count, which has been marred by technical and organizational errors.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S Senator Amy Klobuchar trailed behind in the nation's first nominating contest. Following his disappointing effort in Iowa, Biden's campaign on Friday said that Anita Dunn, a longtime Democratic strategist and former White House aide to President Barack Obama, would assume a larger leadership role within the campaign.

But aides to Biden downplayed the move, noting that Dunn has been advising the campaign all along. "This is not a reshuffling," one aide said. "This is giving her a slightly broader portfolio."

Historically, candidates who win the Iowa caucuses see a boost in New Hampshire, and two opinion polls released this week showed Buttigieg, 38, within striking distance of Sanders, who has consistently been atop the field in the state. The Buttigieg campaign said it had raised $4 million since his strong Iowa performance, with a third of that total coming from 30,000 new donors.

But with controversy surrounding the Iowa results, New Hampshire's primary on Tuesday takes on added importance in the race for the Democratic nomination to face President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez added to the uncertainty on Thursday by calling for an audit of the Iowa caucuses after an array of problems delayed the final count.

In response, Troy Price, the chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, said on Twitter on Friday that once the results were finalized "an independent investigation of what happened is necessary." Buttigieg is likely to bear the brunt of more attacks at the New Hampshire debate than he has in past events - primarily over his relatively thin track record in public office.

Biden, in particular, is expected to challenge Buttigieg on his experience and highlight his own achievements as a senator and vice president under Obama, aides said. At a campaign event in New Hampshire earlier this week, Biden said there was a risk to the party in nominating "someone who’s never held an office higher than mayor of a town of 100,000 people in Indiana."

Biden has also turned up the heat on Sanders. On Wednesday, he warned that if the self-described democratic socialist became the nominee, “every Democrat in America up and down the ballot, in blue states, red states, purple states, and easy districts and competitive ones” will be branded with the same label. CAN HE BEAT TRUMP?

For Sanders, who represents the neighboring state of Vermont, the New Hampshire contest amounts to what can be considered a home game. In 2016, he swamped rival Hillary Clinton in the state by more than 20 percentage points after Clinton, the eventual nominee, defeated him in Iowa. Now that Sanders has shown himself to be a viable threat for the nomination, he is almost certain to be quizzed by Biden and others on the stage about whether his leftist agenda would draw enough voters in November to beat Trump.

The evening is also important for Warren, who finished third in Iowa. If Sanders were not in the race, the senator from neighboring Massachusetts would likely be in a better position in polls ahead of the primary. Warren has argued at campaign events that she is the most electable candidate in the field, with the capacity to unite progressive and moderate voters.

Also onstage at St. Anselm College in Manchester will be Klobuchar, California billionaire Tom Steyer, and businessman Andrew Yang, who qualified for the debate after missing the earlier one in Iowa. Notably absent will be Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire former New York mayor, who is not competing in New Hampshire but has been assembling a formidable campaign operation in later voting states. Although Bloomberg has been ascending in national polls, he failed to meet the criteria for the Friday debate.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)