Sen. Bernie Sanders narrowly won the New Hampshire’s Democratic primary on February 11, over two more candidates, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar.
With 90 % of the votes counted, Sanders, the Vermont independent, was declared the winner by multiple media channels including the ABC and NBC. Sanders led Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., by less than 2 % of the votes while Klobuchar, the senator from Minnesota, arrived in third place.
In 2016, when the Democratic primary was essentially a two-person race, Sanders had cruised to victory over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire by a margin of over 22 points, earning 60 % of the votes.
Sanders asserted that he was two for two in the first contests of the Democratic primary. “The reason that we won tonight in New Hampshire, that we won last week in Iowa, is because of the hard work of so many volunteers,” Sanders said.
When it comes to delegates awarded to the candidates on Tuesday, however, Sanders tied Buttigieg in New Hampshire with nine delegates apiece while Klobuchar earned six delegates.”
Congratulating Sanders on his “strong showing tonight,” Buttigieg stressed that his competitors for the Democratic nomination are “on the same team.”
The news was less encouraging for the other candidates in the crowded field. After a disappointing eighth-place finish, businessman Andrew Yang, who ran on a pledge to institute a universal basic income, announced he was ending his long-shot bid for the White House. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., also exited the race, after failing to register in the final standings. Former Massachusetts Gov. Duval Patrick said he would make a decision on his campaign’s future the following day.
New Hampshire’s 24 delegates are awarded proportionally, but a candidate must meet a 15 % threshold of support in order to receive a share. Quite surprisingly, the two former frontrunners, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who finished in fourth place and former Vice President Joe Biden, who came in fifth, each received less than 10 % of the votes and will therefore not earn any delegates.
