Bernie Sanders wins New Hampshire Democratic primary
Caitlin Yamada/ Iowa State Daily
Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks to supporters Feb. 3 in Des Moines after the Iowa Democratic caucuses.
February 12, 2020
After the long Iowa caucus process, candidates traveled to New Hampshire to campaign for the state’s presidential primary that took place Tuesday.
Sen. Bernie Sanders claimed victory in the Democratic primary in New Hampshire. With 94 percent of precincts reporting, the East-coast native polled at 26 percent, a 1.6 percent margin of victory.
Sanders’ victory was not a landslide. Mayor Pete Buttigieg finished in second place with 24.4 percent support of from 94 percent of reported precincts.
Buttigieg and Sanders earned nine delegates of New Hampshire’s 24, according to a New York Times projection.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar came in third, polling in at 19.7 percent. She earned the remaining six delegates for New Hampshire.
Mack Shelley, Iowa State professor and chair of the political science department, said Klobuchar was in a “very strong third.”
“[Klobuchar] had a very strong debate Friday night, I think she definitely benefited from that,” Shelley said.
Klobuchar, Sanders and Butttigieg battled for first, but as the evening progressed, Sanders came out on top with Buttigeig and Klobuchar following.
Fellow candidates former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren did not receive any delegates in New Hampshire. Candidates must reach 15 percent in order to receive at least one delegate, and both polled at less than 10 percent.
Warren finished in fourth with 9.3 percent support and Biden finished in fifth with 8.4 percent of support with 94 percent of precincts reporting.
Biden was not in New Hampshire while the primary votes were counted, as he chose to head straight to South Carolina, which votes Feb. 29.
“He’s lost badly twice,” Shelley said. “For someone who was nearly crowned nominee of the party, this is a real serious come down. However, I imagine he’s either going to come out first or a very close second in South Carolina.”
Minutes after the polls closed in New Hampshire, Andrew Yang announced that he would be suspending his campaign. Sen. Michael Bennet announced he was suspending his campaign shortly after.
“To me the Yang Gang by definition is young,” Shelley said of Yang’s supporters. “I’m not sure where they’ll end up.”
President Donald Trump easily won his primary in New Hampshire, as he did in 2016. Trump polled at 85.5 percent over his opponent former Gov. Bill Weld, who polled at 9.2 percent with 86 percent of precincts reporting. The remaining votes for the Republican primary were write-in votes or lesser-known candidates.