CONCORD, N.H. — Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg are 1-2 (in some order) after the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary. Amy Klobuchar may have made it a three-candidate race after a surprise surge in the Granite State.
Meanwhile, former frontrunners Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren are reminding supporters there’s a lot of game to left play after disappointing finishes Tuesday.
New Hampshire saw Democrats cull the field — Andrew Yang and Michael Bennet suspended their campaigns, with an announcement by Deval Patrick expected Wednesday — while lifting Sanders to his second straight first-in-the-nation primary win. Buttigieg stayed on his tail after the two jostled atop Iowa, shaping the narrative for left-wing Vermont senator against the Midwestern former mayor half his age.
The path to victory for Warren is particularly murky after being doubled up by Klobuchar in the Granite State — the Massachusetts senator’s backyard. Warren finished fourth, hovering above 9 percent with more than 97 percent of the vote in Wednesday morning. Klobuchar, the moderate senator from Minnesota who few expected to be a major factor in February, had nearly 20 percent.
Many are asking how Warren ended up in this position. Her summer rise in the polls came off the back of energetic debate performances and a barrage of nuts-and-bolts policy proposals to support her progressive ideas.
The more important question now, many say, is whether Warren can rebound. The Nevada caucuses are Feb. 22.
Warren told supporters Tuesday night she is in it for the long haul.
“We might be headed for one of those long primary fights that last for months,” she said. “The question for us Democrats is whether it will be a long, bitter rehash of the same old divides in our party or whether we can find another way.”
What’s striking about the media feedback on Warren’s performance is how little of it she got. Many stories Wednesday morning were about Sanders and Buttigieg, Klobuchar’s push and Biden’s early exit from New Hampshire. Warren appears to have gotten lost in the shuffle.
Here are what some national and local outlets — and President Donald Trump — had to say about Warren.
Who Won In New Hampshire? Not The Establishment, New York Times
“In particular, the stumbles of Ms. Warren, a polling leader for much of 2019, have registered as a startling disappointment for many supporters.”
People Are Voting For Sanders, Not For Socialism, The Atlantic
“Warren has grounded her appeal in wonkiness and know-how, making questions about the viability of specific plans make-or-break. Sanders’ appeal is more personal.”
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Why New Hampshire Went Down The Way It Did, Boston Globe
“Warren did a lot of things right. She visited the state often, quickly scooped up talented staff, and laid out a serious platform. She also had a lot of advantages — the senator for a neighboring state that shares a media market with most of New Hampshire’s residents; a woman running in a state that often elects women statewide. With all those advantages, New Hampshire was supposed to come down to a battle between Sanders and Warren. But when Warren began to lose steam, she never directly challenged Sanders in a sustained way, even at the end.”
Howie Carr: Elizabeth Warren Heading To Political Checkout Counter, Boston Herald
“But don’t worry, Sen. Warren, your day is near. You’re approaching the political checkout counter. Take a number. You’re in the passing lane on the Trail of Tears, as your ancestors might put it, to the Happy Hunting Ground.”
6 Takeaways From The New Hampshire Primary, WBUR
“Sanders essentially tied in Iowa (and had the most raw votes) and now has won New Hampshire, and because the center-left of the party is divided at the moment, he is in the pole position for the Democratic nomination. That’s especially true if Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren continues to fade. She finished fourth with only about 9 percent of the vote — not a good showing for a senator from a neighboring state.”
The One Thing Elizabeth Warren Didn’t Have A Plan For, Slate
“But above all, Warren seemed to get bogged down in the politics of health care. Instead of creating her own proposal from scratch, Warren attempted to win over the left wing of the party by wholeheartedly embracing Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All plan. But while Sanders freely admitted during debates that he would raise middle-class taxes in order to pay for his legislation, Warren awkwardly danced around the question of how to finance it. As a result, the issue dogged her.”
Mike Carraggi is a Patch senior editor in Massachusetts. Reach him at [email protected].
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