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 an average town in Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, completely unknown a year ago. With 26% of the vote, the senator leads the latter by less than two points, and the two men could ultimately obtain the same number of delegates.
Bernie Sanders' victory is much narrower than in 2016, when he 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 four years ago, of the passion that surrounds the public meetings of the dean of this election, by far the most frequented, and the considerable resources that its unrivaled capacity allows to raise campaign funds from small donors.
After Pete Buttigieg's provisional delegate victory in Iowa, while Bernie Sanders won the popular vote, the 38-year-old Benjamin's good performance in New Hampshire was the second confirmation of the evening.
However, it certainly suffered from Tuesday's surprise: the unexpected third place for Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar, with almost 20%. On February 3 in Iowa, a state neighboring her, she came in fifth place. Many voters met at a senator’s rally in Rochester, eastern New Hampshire on Monday, admitted having long hesitated between Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg. "Good evening America, I'm Amy Klobuchar, and I'm going to beat Donald Trump", she trumpeted, Tuesday evening, galvanized by this unexpected result.
The latter has benefited from the extreme fluidity of the Democratic race. According to an exit poll from the CNN channel, almost half (48%) of voters decided in the last few days. This poll of 1,947 voters has a margin of error of 4 points. The Minnesota senator took advantage of her remarkable performance during the debate between candidates held on February 7. This debate was cited by almost half (48%) of voters as a determining factor in their vote. So far shielded from attack due to very modest voting intentions, Amy Klobuchar is likely to find herself much more exposed after the surprise from New Hampshire.
