The Democratic primary in New Hampshire, Tuesday, February 11, was marked by two confirmations and a surprise. As hoped by supporters of independent Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, the latter won the race. He is, however, closely followed by the former mayor of South Bend, a middle Indiana town, Pete Buttigieg, completely unknown a year ago.
With 26% of the vote, Mr. Sanders is less than two points ahead of the latter. His victory is therefore narrower than it was four years ago, when he had crushed the favorite, Hillary Clinton, by more than twenty-two points. Despite this small gap, the 78-year-old senator retains the advantage of notoriety, of an organization tested by this first nomination for nomination, of the passion that surrounds the public meetings of the dean of this election – by far the most visited – and the considerable resources which its unrivaled capacity allows to raise campaign funds from small donors.
After Pete Buttigieg's provisional delegate victory in Iowa, while Senator Sanders won the popular vote, the 38-year-old Benjamin's new good performance in New Hampshire was the second confirmation of the evening.
Pete Buttigieg however certainly suffered from the surprise of this Tuesday: the unexpected third place of the senator of Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar, who had arrived at a disappointing fifth place in Iowa, however a neighbor state of his, a week earlier . Many voters met at a senator’s rally in Rochester, eastern New Hampshire, admitted on Monday that they had long hesitated between the former mayor of South Bend and Amy Klobuchar.
Bad night for Biden and Warren
The latter clearly benefited from the extreme fluidity of this competition. According to an exit poll from the CNN channel, almost half (48%) of voters decided in the last few days. The Minnesota senator took advantage of her performance during the debate between the candidates organized on February 7. This was cited by almost half (48%) of the voters as a determining factor in their vote. Protected so far despite herself by very modest voting intentions, Amy Klobuchar should find herself much more exposed after the surprise of New Hampshire.
In contrast to the top three, two former favorites, former Vice President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren had a very bad evening, which does not bode well for country treasuries already limited. Both have already cut spending on advertising.
