2020 Election Update 2/14
Courtesy of NBC News
By Jeremy Perillo
While the Iowa caucuses earlier this month proved to be chaotic, the New Hampshire Democratic primary proved to turn the tide for the Democratic presidential field. With Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg neck and neck in the delegate count thus far, the predicted future of the primaries has shifted.
Leading up to the primaries, Joe Biden, Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren were steadily in the top three candidates, based on national polling. Since the start of the primary season, however, there has been a massive shift in who is now the Democrat’s frontrunner. Many see Sanders as the new leader of the pack, tied closely with Buttigieg. Following the New Hampshire primary, Buttigieg is ahead of Sanders by one delegate, despite Sanders’ lead in New Hampshire by nearly 4,000 votes.
The rest of the field has shifted dramatically. Amy Klobuchar turned heads as she pulled into the number three spot in New Hampshire with six delegates and more than 30,000 votes ahead of the number four Democrat, Warren. Both Biden and Warren, despite gaining delegates in Iowa, didn’t receive any delegates in New Hampshire.
The results of Tuesday night were a shocker to many. Biden and Warren’s higher status, established running up to the primaries by national polling, has been stripped, putting Sanders and Buttigieg in the lead. While Klobuchar did well Tuesday night, she is still behind Warren overall, while Biden remains a delegate behind.
It must be kept in mind that this is only the second primary, with the next event being the Nevada caucus taking place on February 22nd. Nevada, and the South Carolina primary taking place a week after Nevada, will set the mood ahead of Super Tuesday (March 3rd). Many political/election pundits believe that if Biden doesn’t pull through in either Nevada or South Carolina, the end of his campaign could be imminent. One thing is for certain, the upcoming two caucuses/primary will be key in establishing a strong frontrunner ahead of the primary season’s most important day.
Tuesday night also resulted in heartbreak for some on the campaign trail. Three candidates announced that they would be suspending their campaigns: Andrew Yang, Michael Bennet, and Deval Patrick. Yang, in particular, drew attention to his campaign for his Universal Basic Income initiative. He surprised many in maintaining his candidacy for as long as he did, considering his campaign’s slow progression in the beginning.
