Bernie Sanders got away with a narrow victory in the New Hampshire primary late Tuesday. This puts the left-wing lawmaker on track to claim front-runner status and dominate the already crowded Democratic presidential field.
What We Know:
- Bernie Sanders declared the night “the beginning of the end” for Donald Trump after his recent successes in Iowa and now New Hampshire. These victories do offer great momentum for the race ahead. Finishing behind the Vermont Senator were two moderates, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, who unexpectedly became a strong contender stealing the third place spot.
- After leading the primary, the eventual victory gave Sanders nine of the 24 delegates who will represent New Hampshire at the Democratic national convention in July. This is when the party will crown its nominee based on the number of delegates won. Although Buttigieg had fewer voters, he will also ended up receiving nine delegates.
- Despite Sanders’ affirmative outcome in Iowa, voter turnout was lackluster. New Hampshire, on the other hand, had stellar voter participation that ended up surpassing its previous numbers from 2016.
- It is critical to note that unlike Iowa, New Hampshire holds a more traditional primary where voters cast secret ballots that are counted by the state, rather than the party. Both states are also largely rural and white, but do not represent the larger Democratic electorate.
- The question still remains as to whether the front-runners who have emerged from Iowa and New Hampshire can attract a great diversity of voter ship such as, voters of color. So far, Bernie Sanders has polled as high as 19% among black voters, while other polls suggest rivals such as, Buttigieg, hold less than 10%.
As the runner-up in the 2016 Democratic race, Sanders entered the 2020 contest with considerable name recognition, on par to only one other, Joe Biden. According to Morning Consult, he is the most favorable candidate of all the Democratic contenders.
