Democratic White House hopefuls campaigning in New Hampshire are hoping the nation’s first real electoral primary goes a lot more smoothly than Iowa.
"Everything we know is extremely encouraging," Pete Buttigieg told The Associated Press. Buttigieg is holding onto a first-place lead in Iowa, where 71% of precincts are reporting after more than 24 hours of technical-glitch delays.
Also hoping to continue their momentum out of the Iowa chaos are U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who are holding onto second and third place, respectively.
Former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar are heading toward fourth- and fifth-place finishes, respectively.
New Hampshire had largely taken a back seat to Iowa through January, but the state is poised to take on a more important role following Iowa's delayed, chaotic results.
“New Hampshire becomes more important because we don't know what Iowa's going to come out with,” said Bill Shaheen, a Democratic national committeeman from the state who is backing Biden.
»Important 2020 election dates you should know
The state’s Feb. 11 contest is a primary, which is far simpler than a caucus; the election is also run by state and local governments, not the political parties, such as Iowa. A primary works like a general election, with people going into the voting booth and selecting one candidate. New Hampshire uses paper ballots, with some places counting them electronically.
“Even if those systems failed, New Hampshire would still have an election and would report results at the end of the night,” Deputy Secretary of State Dave Scanlan said.
A poll released last week showed the race too close to call. The poll was independently funded and conducted by the UMass Lowell Center for Public Opinion.
Sanders is at the head of the field with likely Democratic primary voters, with the support of 23%. But Sanders — who won the 2016 New Hampshire primary by 22 points — is now just 1 point ahead of Biden, who has the support of 22% of likely voters, and 4 points ahead of Warren, who has 19%.
Though New Hampshire’s unemployment is less than 3%, wages have stagnated during the last decade, rising far slower than nationally, according to a report from the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy.
The state is dealing with an aging population, particularly in the rural North Country, that will call for a ramp-up in health care and personal care jobs in the coming years.
New Hampshire residents have some of the highest student debt in the country. All that combines to show why a candidate such as Sanders could appeal to voters in the state.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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