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(69)Here's what happened in the New Hampshire primary
The New Hampshire primary is over and Sen. Bernie Sanders has been named the victor with 26% of the vote with 94% of precincts reporting.
A lot happened tonight. Catch up on the crucial takeaways below:
- Sanders wins, CNN projects: Sanders’ projected victory tonight came a little more than a week after the Iowa caucuses were thrown into chaos by a failure of the state party’s vote-counting systems. This time around, the results were clear – and Sanders supporters at his headquarters in Manchester were free to celebrate without reservation. Sanders won the 2016 primary here by a much larger margin, but in 2020 faced a much wider and varied field.
- Buttigieg came in a close 2nd: Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who rose in the polls here after battling Sanders to a virtual tie in Iowa, ultimately fell short in his efforts to knock Sanders off course. While speaking to supporters in Nashua, New Hampshire, Buttigieg said he admired Sanders when he was in high school. “I respect him greatly to this day, and I congratulate him on his strong showing tonight,” he said.
- Klobuchar outshines Warren: Sen. Amy Klobuchar outpaced Sen. Elizabeth Warren tonight in New Hampshire, capturing 19.7% of the vote to Warren’s 9.3%.
- The delegate count: CNN’s estimate of the New Hampshire delegate count has Sanders and Buttigieg each taking home nine a piece and Klobuchar taking six. Combined with Iowa delegates, Buttigieg now has a total of 23, Sanders has 21 and Klobuchar has 7.
- Biden falls: The former vice president will likely end up in fourth or fifth place. That’s the worst finish for a former or current vice president who actively campaigned in the New Hampshire primary. Biden was competitive in the Granite State just recently. He led in at least a few polls in January. But just like in Iowa, Biden’s support collapsed late.
Watch the final projection:
Sanders and Buttigieg each win 9 delegates
Here’s CNN’s estimate of the New Hampshire delegate count:
- Bernie Sanders: 9
- Pete Buttigieg: 9
- Amy Klobuchar: 6
Combined with Iowa delegates, Buttigieg now has a total of 23, Sanders has 21 and Klobuchar has 7.
Bernie Sanders wins the New Hampshire primary, CNN projects
Sen. Bernie Sanders has won the New Hampshire primary, CNN projects, clearing a key hurdle as the race moves to Nevada and South Carolina in the coming weeks.
His victory tonight came a little more than a week after the Iowa caucuses were thrown into chaos by a failure of the state party’s vote-counting systems.
This time around, the results were clear – and Sanders supporters at his headquarters in Manchester were free to celebrate without reservation.
Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who rose in the polls here after battling Sanders to a virtual tie in Iowa, ultimately fell short in his efforts to knock Sanders off course.
Sanders won the 2016 primary here by a much larger margin, but in 2020 faced a much wider and varied field.
Buttigieg’s solid showing and a late surge from Sen. Amy Klobuchar highlighted both the strength and continued indecision of the party’s moderate wing, who have not yet coalesced around alternative to the front-running Sanders. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign, which appears to be caught in a no-man’s land between Democrats’ ideological bases, will now face more serious questions about her path to the nomination.
Watch Jake Tapper’s analysis: ‘A stunning achievement by Sanders’
Sanders declares victories in New Hampshire and Iowa, thanks opponents
Bernie Sanders took to the stage in New Hampshire and declared victory thanks to his volunteers – with a nod to his strong showing in Iowa last week.
“With victories behind us, popular vote in Iowa and victory here tonight, we’re going to Nevada, we’re going to South Carolina, we’re going to win those states,” Sanders said. He was joined on stage by his extended family.
Sanders won Iowa’s popular vote, but had fewer awarded delegates than Pete Buttigieg. Delegate count determine’s Iowa’s caucus winner, not the popular vote.
Sanders also thanked his opponents early on in the speech, a shift away from the more negative tone that settled over the Democratic primary field ahead of Tuesday’s caucuses.
“Tonight I want to take my opportunity to express my appreciation and respect for all of the candidates we ran against: Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, and what I can tell you, with absolute certainty and I know I speak for every one of the Democratic candidates is that no matter who wins, and we certainly hope it’s going to be us, we are going to unite together and we are going to defeat the most dangerous president in modern history,” Sanders told the crowd.
Watch the moment:
Buttigieg: "I admired Sen. Sanders when I was a high school student"
Pete Buttigieg is addressing supporters in Nashua, New Hampshire, saying he admired his competitor Sen. Bernie Sanders when he was in high school.
The race in New Hampshire is still too close to call. With 82% of precincts reporting, Sanders maintains a slight lead with 26% of the vote in New Hampshire. Buttigieg is close behind with 24.3%.
Watch the moment:
New Hampshire race still too close to call with Sanders and Buttigieg in dead heat
With 82% of precincts reporting, Sen. Bernie Sanders maintains his lead with 26% of the vote in New Hampshire with former Mayor Peter Buttigieg close behind with 24.3%.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar remains in third place with 19.9%.
Watch John King’s analysis: ‘This is a 4,000-vote race’
Buttigieg campaign source: "This was Bernie’s backyard" and the gap is narrowing
As returns come in, the Pete Buttigieg campaign has their eyes on the suburbs, a source says.
So far, Buttigieg has been performing well there, but also performing well in general throughout the state.
This source says they are “feeling generally good.”
The gap between Sanders and Buttigieg continues to narrow with 70% of precincts reporting in New Hampshire.
Sanders leads 26% of the vote, compared to Buttigieg’s 24.2%.
Here's how many delegates Sanders, Buttigieg and Klobuchar have earned so far
Here’s the latest New Hampshire delegate estimate from the CNN Decision Desk:
- Bernie Sanders: 8
- Pete Buttigieg: 7
- Amy Klobuchar: 6
There are 24 total delegates at stake in New Hampshire, meaning there are three left.
Watch CNN’s David Chalian explain the delegate count:
Here are the top 4 candidates with 70% of precincts reporting
The gap between Sen. Bernie Sanders and former mayor Pete Buttigieg continues to narrow with 70% of precincts reporting in New Hampshire.
Sanders leads 26% of the vote, compared to Buttigieg’s 24.2%.
In third is Sen. Amy Klobuchar with 20.1% followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren with 9.3%.
There are more moderate voters in New Hampshire now than in 2016, exit polls show
According to exit polls, Sen. Bernie Sanders leads among New Hampshire voters who consider themselves “very liberal” in ideology, with around half of the group voting for him. Elizabeth Warren follows with fewer than 1 in 5 of this group, and Pete Buttigieg at 1 in 7.
But the balance of the electorate has shifted since 2016:
- In 2020, “very liberal” voters made up about 1 in 5 voters, down from 26% in 2016.
- Moderate voters were up to just over a third in 2020, from 27% in 2016.
The exit polls showed, Amy Klobuchar and Buttigieg lead among moderate Democrats.
Klobuchar drew around a third of white college-educated women, followed by over 1 in 5 for Buttigieg, and slightly less for Sanders. White women without degrees were split between Buttigieg and Sanders.
For white men, those without college degrees strongly supported Sanders (over a third), while around a quarter of those with degrees supported him, followed by Klobuchar and Buttigieg.
Warren's not-so-great-night came with a bar and catering
It became clear that Sen. Elizabeth Warren wasn’t leading in the New Hampshire primary election results early tonight — but that didn’t stop supporters and staffers alike from enjoying the catering and bar at Warren headquarters in Manchester.
While Warren worked her “selfie line” after giving her speech for the night, supporters helped themselves to Swedish meatballs and brisket that was offered to people who attended the Election Night party.
The room had high tops that were left empty, covered in liberty green table clothes – the official campaign color named after the Statue of Liberty – and flower arrangements.
The mood in the room wasn’t exactly celebratory – staffers and supporters alike were spotted looking serious as they waited for the senator to finish taking photos.
After she finished taking photos, Warren exited the room without addressing press and the room quickly emptied.
Deval Patrick to make decision Wednesday about future of his 2020 campaign
Deval Patrick told supporters on Tuesday night he and his wife are going to make a decision Wednesday morning about the future of his presidential campaign.
“No matter what, the future of this cause endures,” he continued.
“No matter whether it is a candidate for president, or as a public citizen, I’m going to stay involved. No matter what decision we make tomorrow morning about the practical ability of this campaign to continue, I’m going to stay involved,” Patrick said.
“And so must you,” he said.
Race tightens between Sanders and Buttigieg in New Hampshire
The race has narrowed in New Hampshire with Sen. Bernie Sanders commanding 26.7% of the vote to Pete Buttigieg’s 23.8% with 59% of precincts reporting.
In third place is Sen. Amy Klobuchar with 19.9%.
Watch the latest analysis:
Klobuchar gives shoutout to "my friend Elizabeth"
Sen. Amy Klobuchar just gave a shoutout to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who earlier tonight congratulated Klobuchar on “showing just how wrong the pundits can be when they count a woman out.”
During a speech in front of supporters earlier tonight, Elizabeth Warren acknowledged Klobuchar, who is currently polling in third place.”
“And I also want to congratulate my friend and colleague Amy Klobuchar for showing just how wrong the pundits can be when they count a woman out,” Warren said to applause.
Watch the moment:
Biden: "The people of Nevada are watching"
Joe Biden made it clear tonight he was happy to turn to South Carolina and Nevada, the next two states in the Democratic nominating process.
Biden’s emphasis on the back end of the four early voting states comes after disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, though he emphasized that there’s still more to come.
“We just heard from the first two of 50 states. Two of them. Not all the nation, not half the nation, not a quarter of the nation, not 10 percent — two. Two,” Biden said.
“Where I come from that’s the opening bell, not the closing bell,” he continued. “The fight to end Donald Trump’s presidency is just beginning.”
Biden appeared to misspeak when naming the early contest states, omitting New Hampshire for Nevada: “It is important that Iowa and Nevada have spoken, but look, we need to hear from Nevada and South Carolina and Super Tuesday states and beyond.”
Watch the moment:
Klobuchar: "We have beaten the odds every step of the way"
Sen. Amy Klobuchar is addressing supporters in Concord, New Hampshire.
“Hello, America, I’m Amy Klobuchar and I will beat Donald Trump,” she said after taking the stage.
With 52% of the estimated vote in, she’s behind Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg. She’s ahead of Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden.
Klobuchar said her campaign is not stopping.
“Because of you we are taking this campaign to Nevada. We are going to South Carolina. And we are taking this message of unity to the country,” she said.
Watch Klobuchar’s speech:
Sanders' decision to criticize Buttigieg may pay off
Sen. Bernie Sanders has been reluctant to attack his fellow Democrats during this campaign, but has found strategic places to deliver key blows.
Up until after the Iowa caucuses, Sanders had all but ignored Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. That changed after Buttigieg’s strong performance.
Sanders waited several days, after polls in New Hampshire showed a Buttigieg surge, and then on Friday Sanders laid into Buttigieg and his wealthy donor base.
He continued the attack in a series of TV interviews and on the debate stage that night.
If Sanders is able to hold off Buttigieg tonight, that strategy could be a key part of his victory.
Former New Hampshire Republicans are attracted to Buttigieg's closing pitch
Melanie McGreevy came to tonight’s Pete Buttigieg watch party in New Hampshire with her friends Caitlin Lomondo and Heather Malloy. Though she voted for Trump in 2016, McGreevy, a schoolteacher and former Air National Guardsman, told CNN, “Now I’m voting Democrat and I feel proud of it.”
Buttigieg, in his closing weeks, has made explicit his pitch to Republican voters fed up with Trump, or as he puts it, “future former Republicans.”
For McGreevy, that pitch hit home, and was all the more salient because it was one that allowed her to convince her family.
“I’m happy that they’re listening to what I have to say, because we’re the next generation or the future that’s coming up. So, I feel like it’s really important for us to have a say and for my parents to be able to listen as well,” McGreevy said.
Biden from South Carolina: "We're going to be back" in New Hampshire
Joe Biden and his wife Jill briefly addressed supporters in New Hampshire via livestream from South Carolina. Despite Biden’s showing placing him out of the top tier, both promised to return to the Granite State in the general election.
“We’re going to be back, we’re going to be back in New Hampshire” to defeat Donald Trump, Biden said, adding that his campaign is “going on” to Nevada and South Carolina.
Biden left New Hampshire even before polls closed, jetting off to South Carolina this afternoon. Voters there head to the polls in 18 days, after the Nevada caucuses. Biden has maintained low expectations on his New Hampshire performance, but made it clear the future of his campaign rides on a strong showing in South Carolina.
Nonetheless, Biden indicated he hasn’t turned his back on the state.
A disappointing night for Biden
Tonight has to be seen as truly disappointing for Joe Biden.
He looks like he’ll end up in fourth or fifth place. That’s the worst finish for a former or current vice president who actively campaigned in the New Hampshire primary.
What makes it worse for Biden: He was competitive in the Granite State just recently. He led in at least a few polls in January. But just like in Iowa, Biden’s support collapsed late.
This type of poor showing relative to expectations can be deadly for a campaign. Indeed, if you were to model out how a performance such as Biden’s would impact the national picture, we can expect him to lose even more support than he did after his poor Iowa result. The question now is whether Biden can maintain his standing among black voters, as the contest shifts to more favorable terrain.
That’s about the only good news for Biden. The next few contests will be in states where at least 40% of the electorate will be nonwhite.
Dana Bash: Let’s digest this Biden performance for a moment
