Democratic presidential hopeful and former Vice President Joe Biden sharpened the knives against rival candidates Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders Wednesday following his dismal showing in the Iowa caucuses. Biden and Buttigieg had avoided attacking each other directly for months but the gloves started to come off in recent weeks. Buttigieg, who is currently leading the Iowa caucus with 75 percent of precincts reporting, took a swipe at Biden last week, name-checking him in a speech and saying the biggest risk Democrats could take is “to look to the same Washington playbook” used in the past. Biden, who is currently the fourth-ranked candidate in Iowa, hit back Wednesday, admonishing Buttigieg for apparently attacking former President Obama’s legacy. “Is he really saying the Obama-Biden administration was a failure,” Biden said at a campaign stop in Concord, New Hampshire.

He also warned attendees at the event that every Democratic candidate in down ballot elections would be hurt if Sanders, a self-described socialist, was the nominee. “Every Democrat will have to carry the label Senator Sanders has chosen for himself,” he said.