Following the chaotic Iowa caucuses, top Democratic candidates for the 2020 presidential election are vying for the top spot in New Hampshire.
As the second state to vote in the primaries, New Hampshire is seen as a chance for candidates who were popular in Iowa to prove themselves.
Notably, Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, IN, tied with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in Iowa’s contest. Whether Buttigieg can keep pace with the popular senator in New Hampshire, where Sanders is a favorite to win, is a major question in this race.
A surprising twist from Iowa was former vice president Joe Biden’s shockingly poor performance. Support for the moderate, centrist democrat all but evaporated in Iowa.
Instead, Buttigieg, who is also a centrist, scored the moderate vote. Unsurprisingly, popular Democratic Socialist candidate Sanders also surged in the results, scoring a popular vote win. Sanders nearly tied for state delegate equivalents with Buttigieg.
While Buttigieg scored 13 of the SDEs, he seems to be aware that Sanders is his closest competition.
Speaking of Sanders at a Democratic Party dinner, Buttigieg conceded, “I respect Sen. Sanders…but when I hear this message go out that you’re either for revolution, or you’ve got to be for the status quo, that’s a vision of the country that doesn’t have room for most of us.”
Hecklers in the crowd began to chant “Wall Street Pete” after this comment. The nickname references Buttigieg’s campaign taking money from wealthy donors.
On the other hand, Senator Sanders is famous for the grassroots nature of his campaign. He aims to reshape campaign finance trends by only accepting donations from individual supporters, never corporations.
During an event in Plymouth, Sanders took Buttigieg to task over his campaign finance.
Sanders asked, “Do you think that the person you’re giving money to is going to stand up to the corporate elite and fight for a government that represents all of us? I don’t think so.”
New Hampshire’s primary vote is tomorrow, February 2.
