Everything you need to know about the New Hampshire Primary

Feb 11, 2020 | News

Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden addresses voters and the media Sunday in Hudson, NH.
Jacob White

MANCHESTER, NH — After the chaos of the Iowa caucuses and a week of heavy campaigning in the state of New Hampshire, hundreds of thousands of residents are casting their ballots for the 2020 U.S Presidential primary election on Tuesday.

New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary could potentially be an indicator for how the rest of the country will choose the Democratic nominee for president of the United States.

The state has 33 delegates in this summer’s Democratic National Convention, but only 24 are up for grabs in today’s vote. (The other nine are superdelegates who are free to vote for whoever they want.)

Perhaps more importantly, though, this primary garners a lot of national and international coverage so whoever can do the best here can ride a wave that could lead them to the nomination. All of the candidates and many voters have been talking about this primary and the November election as a major moment in American political history. 

“We are in a battle for the soul of this nation.” Joe Biden said at a campaign event on Feb. 9.

Longshot candidate Andrew Yang has been reminding New Hampshire voters of their outsized importance in this process. “Do you know how many Californians each one of you is worth? 1,000 each,” he said Thursday.

According to a Real Clear Politics average of the polling data in New Hampshire, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is polling at 28 per cent in the state followed by former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg at 21 percent. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar are all polling at 11% each. 

Manchester, NH voters listen to Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday, the day before the New Hampshire primary.

Sanders, who won New Hampshire the last time there was a Democratic presidential primary in 2016,  has been leading in national polling as well. He has kept up his high poll numbers for most of the time since he announced his intention to run for president. He finished second in the Iowa Caucus and has 12 delegates coming into New Hampshire. 

Buttigieg won the most delegates in the Iowa Caucus just last week after weeks of counting and recounting. He has since had an increase in his polling numbers in New Hampshire over the past week as he has increased over 10 per cent in his week in New Hampshire since Iowa. He is trying to take that momentum he has built up in the state into the nomination. 

Warren, one of the senators from the neighbouring state of Massachusetts, has been as high as second in the polls here as recently as a month ago but after she started to go after Sanders at one of the debates, she started to slip a bit in her polling numbers. She comes into New Hampshire with 8 delegates from Iowa.   

Biden was considered to be front runner when he announced he was running for president but he has slipped a lot since then – and quickly. The most telling comment about how Biden thinks he will do here is from his opening answer at the debate here Friday where he said, “I took a hit in Iowa, and I’m sure to take a hit here, too.” Biden is looking more toward Nevada and South Carolina – the next states for caucus and primary, respectively – where he has been polling much better. 

Klobuchar has been trying to take the mantle of the leading moderate Democrat in this race with Biden slipping and has done well since the New Hampshire debate. Her poll numbers have increased in recent days and is looking to improve upon the 1 delegate she has now from the Iowa Caucus. 

Andrew Yang cannot seem to gain much traction and is polling at around three or four per cent.

Other notable candidates in the Democratic primary include businessman Andrew Yang, who has been doing a lot of events but cannot seem to gain much traction, polling at around three or four per cent. Another businessman, Tom Steyer, had some good moments in the debate here last Friday at the last New Hampshire debate but has lingered in the low single digits in the polls. 

Most polls in the state will close at 7 p.m EST and results are expected to follow within an hour of that. A Republican primary is also taking place, but President Donald Trump faces no significant competition.

Follow Humber College’s Skedline journalists Irelyne Lavery (@irelynelavery), Jack Anderson (@JackAndersonBJA) and Jacob White (@White_Jacob22) for results from New Hampshire Tuesday night.