New Hampshire primary report

On Wednesday, February 12, Democratic citizens of New Hampshire made their voices heard at the state’s primary election. With over 25% of the vote, Senator Bernie Sanders came out on top, followed closely by Mayor Pete Buttigieg who held 24% of the popular vote. According to CNN, Sanders and Buttigieg both gained nine delegates in New Hampshire bringing Sanders to a total of 21 and Buttigieg to a total of 23.

After the disaster that was the Iowa caucuses, things in New Hampshire ran quite smoothly with no major issues in vote counting or reporting. Sanders and Buttigieg ran a close race, at one point coming within 4,000 votes of each other (CNN). While Sanders was projected to be the winner once 94% of the votes were in, some were critical saying his margin of victory was too narrow for comfort. When running in 2016, Sanders was able to win New Hampshire by a much larger margin compared to this year’s primary. It’s true that there are more candidates running this time, but Sanders also spent more money than anyone else in this state and New Hampshire neighbors his home state of Vermont. Also, according to exit polls, there are more moderates voting in New Hampshire this time around compared to 2016 when more identified as “very liberal.” This ideological divide continues to be an issue for Democrats and Independents throughout this race.

With Andrew Yang officially out of the race, a group of frontrunners has emerged in recent weeks. While Sanders has won the popular vote in both primaries, Buttigieg has the most delegates. Senator Elizabeth Warren ranks third with eight delegates, Senator Amy Klobuchar comes in a close fourth with seven, and former Vice-President Joe Biden ranks fifth with six delegates. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is also among those running. According to The New York Times, he is currently polling at 19% nationally among Democrats and Democrat-leaning Independents and has qualified for the Wednesday night debate in Las Vegas. While the results from the first two primaries are important, there is still much game left to be played.

Abby Haslem - Copy Editor