Feb. 12 (UPI) — Sen. Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday night, with a majority of the votes counted.
Sanders, a three-term senator from neighboring Vermont, won 26 percent of the vote with 97 percent of precincts reporting. Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., earned the second most votes with 24 percent, followed by Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota with 20 percent.
“We just won the New Hampshire primary. What we have done together here is nothing short of the beginning of a political revolution,” Sanders’ campaign wrote on Twitter.
Speaking to supporters, Sanders cited his strong performance in Iowa and set his sights on upcoming primaries.
“With victories behind us, popular vote in Iowa and victory here tonight, we’re going to Nevada, we’re going to win those states,” he said.
Buttigieg congratulated Sanders on his performance and said he has long been an admirer of the senator.
“I admired Sen. Sanders when I was a high school student. I respect him greatly to this day, and I congratulate him on his strong showing tonight,” he said.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, earned 9 percent, and former Vice President Joe Biden earned 8 percent. Businessman Tom Steyer received 4 percent, while Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and businessman Andrew Yang each received 3 percent.
Yang ended his presidential bid on Tuesday evening, saying he didn’t anticipate receiving the necessary support to win the race.
“I am a numbers guy,” he said. “In most of these states, I’m not going to be at a threshold where I get delegates which makes sticking around not necessarily helpful or productive in terms of furthering the goals of this campaign.”
Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado also dropped out of the race after poor initial returns in New Hampshire.
The Democratic field stumped Monday in the key New England state following a debate there Friday and a rally by President Donald Trump, who officially is running in the New Hampshire’s primary, as well, although there are no other major Republican challengers on the state’s ballot.
ABC News and CNN projected Trump will win the Republican primary in New Hampshire.
Sanders won 12 delegates in Iowa and narrowly lost to Buttigieg, who was awarded 14. Sanders, however, is now looking to take command in the race with a win Tuesday close to his constituency.
“New Hampshire: No matter what your community looks like or who you voted for in the past, today is your chance to join a movement for change,” Buttigieg said Tuesday. “To make this happen, we’re going to need all hands on deck.”
“Today we have a chance to finish what we started four years ago and send a powerful message to the billionaire class,” added Sanders, who spoke to thousands at a rally Monday night.
All Democratic candidates, though, are hoping for a better outcome with the counting. A glitch with a mobile reporting app delayed Iowa’s results for days, embarrassed the party and led officials to partly recanvass the ballots.
Warren, who’s also close to home in Tuesday’s primary, finished third in Iowa and received eight pledged delegates. Biden was fourth and received six and Klobuchar was awarded one delegate. Each candidate jockeyed for third place in multiple New Hampshire polls with Klobuchar receiving a boost from her numbers in Iowa.
Other candidates in the field — Yang and Steyer, Gabbard, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick — are hoping for a surge in New Hampshire.
On Tuesday, Warren said she is incorporating parts of various plans from former candidates Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and Jay Inslee.
“The way I see it, as Democrats running for the highest office in our country, we’re making each other stronger,” she said.
“In Concord and across the country, people know: This is our moment. They’re ready to choose hope over fear. They’re ready to dream big, fight hard and win!”
Biden departed New Hampshire on Tuesday for South Carolina, the next stop on the primary calendar.
“We’re counting on supporters across the Granite State to get out and vote,” he tweeted. “Together, we can win this primary, beat Donald Trump, and restore the soul of this nation.”
“If you are tired of all the noise and the nonsense and the extremes of our politics, you have a home with me,” Klobuchar said, hailing new polling that shows her leading the Democratic field in New Hampshire. On Monday, she touted her experience and said some voters, like herself, aren’t comfortable with a socialist like Sanders as the Democratic nominee.
Gabbard, who has not qualified for the last few debates, has focused on early voting states for several weeks.
“We need a nominee who can stand up to Trump. I have proven that I can do that,” she said. “He will not be able to rattle me.”
Trump also faces a primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday and faces a number of names on the GOP ballot. He is, however, all but assured the win.
“Great being in New Hampshire last night,” he tweeted Tuesday. “I would say that was the biggest political rally in New Hampshire history.”
