New Hampshire primary results: Bernie Sanders wins vote as Democratic field thins out
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primaries, declaring victory in the first-in-the-nation vote and paving an even clearer potential path to securing the nomination and moving onto the general election against Donald Trump.
After essentially tying in Iowa last week, the strong showings from Pete Buttigieg, who appeared to place in second, and Mr Sanders cemented their status at the top of the 2020 Democratic field.
And an unexpectedly strong performance from Amy Klobuchar gave her a stronger path out of New Hampshire as the contest moves on to the gantlet of state-by-state primary contests that lie ahead.
The strength of Mr Sanders and Mr Buttigieg was matched in reverse by the struggle of former Vice President Joe Biden, who spent most of the last year as the Democrats’ national front-runner but fled New Hampshire hours before polls closed anticipating a bad finish.
With final returns ahead, he was competing for fourth place with Elizabeth Warren, a disappointing turn for the senator from neighbouring Massachusetts.
Neither Mr Biden nor Ms Warren were on track to receive any delegates.
“So many of you chose to meet a new era of challenge with a new generation of leadership,” Mr Buttigieg said.
Meanwhile, Mr Sanders boasted of “a movement from coast to coast ... to defeat the most dangerous president."
Meanwhile, two candidates dropped out amid the crucial New Hampshire vote.
Michael Bennet, a Colorado Senator and former 2020 hopeful, told supporters on Tuesday: “I love you, New Hampshire. Whether you knew it or not, we were having a great time together.”
He added: “I think it’s fitting for us to end the campaign tonight.”
The announcement came just after Andrew Yang, another low-polling Democratic presidential candidate, announced he was suspending his campaign amid the first-in-the-nation primary.
“They’ve decided tonight, and tonight is not going to be our night, but let me say this to New Hampshire: You may see me once again, so thank you”, Mr Bennet said.
Mr Yang, who announced the suspension of his candidacy just moments before Mr Bennet, was the last candidate of colour to qualify for the debate stages, effectively leaving a still-crowded field of all-white candidates vying for the Democratic nomination.
Additional reporting by Associated Press. See live updates from the New Hampshire primaries as they came in below.
Please allow a moment for the live blog to load
Breaking news: Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign has called on Mike Bloomberg to drop out of the Democratic primaries over leaked audio seemingly showing the billionaire White House hopeful defending his controversial stop-and-frisk initiative as a former mayor.
Nina Turner, one of the Vermont senator’s top campaign surrogates and national co-chairwoman of his 2020 campaign, said in a statement to Axios: “What has been exposed is the true nature of Mayor Bloomberg. So, one apology just because you're running for president does not erase the damage that you have done.”
“He should not be running, now that that has come up,” she added. “I think he should drop out of the race."
The comments come as Mr Sanders appears to be leading the polls ahead of the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation primary. Mr Bloomberg, one of the last editions to the already-crowded field of Democratic candidates, declined to campaign heavily in any of the crucial early-voting states, often seen as essential in securing the Democratic nomination.
Story to come...
Donald Trump Jr has attacked Bernie Sanders as the Vermont senator appears to be leading the pack of Democratic candidates in the crucial New Hampshire primary, telling The Hill in an interview on Tuesday: “Bernie’s been in [Congress] for 30 years. What has he done? There’s a difference between talking about fighting and actually fighting.”
“You saw what happened with him and Hillary. You saw what happened to him in Iowa. Is Bernie really a fighter? It’s one thing to give a stump speech and say something but he got steamrolled by the party last time and then he goes and endorses Hillary,” he said, adding: “I don’t see it being real competition.”
With less than one percent of the vote reported so far out of New Hampshire, Amy Klobuchar appears to have a lead over the crowded field of Democratic candidates, followed by Bernie Sanders. This can of course change throughout the night, and likely will many times as new polling data comes in. If it holds true, it would be great news for the Minnesota Democrat's presidential campaign, which has been seeking a boost in support during the key early state primaries.
Here's our interview with the candidate a few months back in Iowa:
Breaking news: Bernie Sanders is leading with 27 percent of the vote in New Hampshire, with just six percent of polling coming in across the state. He's trailed by Pete Buttigieg, who has 22 percent, and Amy Klobuchar with 21 percent. Elizabeth Warren is in a distant fourth place with less than 10 percent of support.
These results can and likely will change throughout the night.
After acknowledging his campaign was hit with a "gut punch" following his weak performance in Iowa, former Vice President Joe Biden appears to be trailing in fifth place in New Hampshire.
Bernie Sanders is continuing to hold his lead with 10 percent of the vote in, followed by Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, with 27.8 percent, 22.4 percent and 20.8 percent respectively.
Hi this is Andrew Buncombe in Seattle, watching the results as if seems the former vice president might not be having a great night. So what would it mean if Joe Biden comes in 5th? 1. It means he has to perform strongly among communities of colour in South Carolina and Nevada. 2. He has to find some other way of making himself attractive to voters across the nation looking for someone able to beat Donald Trump. 3. The biggest danger is that this is not a blip but a sign of things to come. Mr Biden pitched himself as someone whose nomination was inevitable. In truth, it never has been.
Here's my latest on Nina Turner calling for Mike Bloomberg to drop out after leaked audio recordings showed him defending his controversial stop-and-frisk policy during a 2015 talk at the Aspen Institute.
Breaking news: Reports indicate 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang is set to announce to end of his campaign in an upcoming speech. The entrepreneur garnered a significant following for his calls to implement universal basic income across the country, and was one of the last candidates of colour who managed to make the debate stages ahead of the New Hampshire vote. He did not appear to have a strong showing in the first-in-the-nation primary on Tuesday.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments