New Hampshire: Sanders holds narrow lead over Buttigieg

Bernie Sanders held a narrow lead over Pete Buttigieg in the New Hampshire Democratic primary Tuesday night as both ideological opposites battled it out for front-runner status in the chaotic nomination fight to take on President Donald Trump.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Midwestern moderate like former Mayor Buttigieg, was trailing in third place. It It was an unexpectedly strong showing for Klobuchar, who surged carrying out a standout debate performance on Friday.

“Tonight in New Hampshire, as everyone had counted us out a good week ago,” Klobuchar said, “I came back and we delivered.”

With votes still coming in, the race was too early to call. However the night was disappointing for just two prominent White House hopefuls. Former Vice President Joe Biden was competing with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren for fourth place. Neither was on the right track to get any delegates.

After a chaotic beginning to primary voting the other day in Iowa, Democrats hoped New Hampshire would provide clarity in their urgent quest to pick someone to take on Trump in November. At least two prospects dropped out in the wake of weak finishes Tuesday night: just-the-facts moderate Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet and political newcomer Andrew Yang, who attracted a little but loyal following in the last year and was one of just three prospects of color left in the race.

While struggling prospects sought to minimize the most recent results, history shows that the first-in-the-nation primary will have enormous influence shaping the 2020 race. In the present day era, no Democrat has ever end up being the party’s general election nominee without finishing first or second in New Hampshire.

While the action was on the Democratic side, Trump easily won New Hampshire’s Republican primary. He was facing token opposition from former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld.

Warren, among the front-runners for months, was doing poorly in early results but told cheering supporters, “Our campaign is made for the long haul, and we are simply getting started.”

She said Sanders and Buttigieg are “both great candidates,” and congratulated Klobuchar, who she called “my pal and colleague.” Despite an embarrassing defeat that raised questions about her path forward, Warren vowed to go forward.

“Our campaign is made for the long term, and we are simply starting out,” she said.

Having already predicted he'd “take a hit” in New Hampshire after a distant fourth-place finish in Iowa, Biden essentially ceded the state. He was planing a trip to SC Tuesday as he gamble his candidacy on a solid showing there later this month boosted by support from black voters.

“We’re just starting out,” Biden said.

More than a year after Democrats started out announcing their presidential candidacies, the party is struggling to coalesce behind a note or a messenger in its desperate quest to defeat Trump. That raised the stakes of the brand new Hampshire primary as voters weighed whether prospects were too liberal, too moderate or too inexperienced - vulnerabilities that could play to Trump’s advantage in the fall.

He had not been on the ballot, but NY billionaire Michael Bloomberg loomed over the brand new Hampshire contest as moderates didn't embrace a single option to Sanders.

Bloomberg was skipping all four states that vote this month in favor of dozens of delegate-rich contests in March. He’s already devoted vast sums of dollars to your time and effort.

New Hampshire Democrats headed into Tuesday’s primary with a give attention to matters of fairness.

Just over 1 in 10 said they were “very confident” that their party’s process for deciding on a presidential nominee was fair, according to a wide-ranging AP VoteCast survey. As well, almost 8 in 10 also viewed the economy as unfair, although there is little consensus which candidate would do the best job of stewarding the world’s most significant economy.

Democrats were closely monitoring how many people arrived for Tuesday’s contest. New Hampshire’s secretary of state predicated record-high turnout, but if that didn't materialize, Democrats would confront the chance of waning enthusiasm carrying out a relatively weak showing in Iowa the other day and Trump’s rising poll numbers.

Trump, campaigning in New Hampshire Monday night, sought to inject chaos in the process. The Republican president suggested that conservative-leaning voters could affect the state’s Democratic primary results, though only registered Democrats and voters not registered with either party can participate in New Hampshire’s Democratic presidential primary.

In the days before Tuesday’s primary, Buttigieg had come under increasing attack from Biden and Klobuchar, who seized on his insufficient experience. And from the left, Sanders attacked Buttigieg’s reliance on big-dollar donors, which sparked jeers of “Wall Street Pete” from Sanders’ supporters.

After New Hampshire, the political spotlight shifts to Nevada, where Democrats will hold caucuses on Feb. 22. But several candidates, including Warren and Sanders, intend to visit states in the coming days that vote on Super Tuesday, signaling they are in the race for the long term.