Amy Klobuchar spoke to her supporters with a better-than-expected showing by presenting her biography as just the kind of grit and determination needed in the general election.
“Hello, America, I am Amy Klobuchar, and I will beat Donald Trump,” she said to her supporters, in what is a key moment in the national spotlight.
Klobuchar is emerging as the surprise showing of the night, so far placing third in the race after being written off as an also-ran in the contest. She said that her campaign had been counted out as recently as a week ago — “thank you pundits” — but a standout debate performance on Friday began to change her fortunes.
“In the end, we know what united us is so much bigger than what divides us,” Klobuchar said.
Klobuchar has been elected three times to the Senate from Minnesota, and she often notes that she has done so by winning over independents and Republicans.
“While there are still ballots left to count, we have beaten the odds every step of the way,” Klobuchar said.
PREVIOUSLY: After a dismal showing in New Hampshire, Joe Biden turned his attention to more diverse early states of South Carolina and Nevada.
“Tell them it ain’t over man. We are just getting started,” Biden said, speaking to supporters in Charleston, SC, where he and his wife Jill went on Tuesday afternoon after signaling that they expected a tough primary night.
“Up to now, we haven’t heard from the most committed community of the Democratic party — the African American community,” Biden said in his remarks, adding that the overwhelming majority of Latino voters also have not had a chance to weigh in.
Biden is pinning his hopes on the Nevada caucuses on on Feb. 22 and the South Carolina primary on Feb. 29. He has led in polls in South Carolina.
He tried to push back against the night’s punditry that his campaign is in serious trouble with the New Hampshire finish, in which he is placing fifth.
“We have just heard from the first two of all 50 states,” Biden said.
PREVIOUSLY: Elizabeth Warren said that she is staying in the race for the “long haul,” despite what is expected to be a disappointing finish in the New Hampshire results.
“The fight we are in, the fight to save our democracy, is an uphill battle, but this campaign is built for the long haul,” Warren told supporters. “And we are just getting started.”
Her campaign captivated liberals and progressives last fall, particularly for her policy prescriptions and relentless one-on-one interactions with voters in the selfie line, but she began to sink in the polls as Bernie Sanders began to shore up support on the left.
As the results rolled in, commentators focused on the question of whether Klobuchar’s unexpected strength drew from Warren’s support, particularly among suburban women.
“Amy Klobuchar is maybe the one Elizabeth Warren didn’t expect to be up there,” said CNN’s Gloria Borger.
Warren also congratulated Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg for their showing atop the results so far, and she singled out Klobuchar “for showing just how wrong pundits can be when they count a woman out.”
PREVIOUSLY: Andrew Yang, the entrepreneur and political unknown who ran on a campaign of universal basic income, will drop out of the presidential race.
He told journalists that he would announce his decision to supporters at a primary night event.
He was expected to have a lackluster finish in New Hampshire’s results, even though he developed a faithful following of supporters, who took to his message and his campaign slogan, “MATH.”
“I am so proud of this campaign. That you everyone who got us here,” Yang wrote on Twitter early on Tuesday evening.
Another candidate also dropped out of the race as the results rolled in: Michael Bennet, the Colorado senator, whose campaign failed to gain traction. After the initial presidential debates last summer, he failed to qualify.
PREVIOUSLY: Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar led in early returns in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday.
Many of the polls closed at 7 p.m. ET, and networks began digesting the results with a bit of caution given that only a slice of the vote was counted. Commentators still pointed to Klobuchar and the fact that her campaign was regarded as an also ran until only very recently, with an apparent surge since the presidential debate on Friday.
After the chaos of the Iowa caucuses, anchors, pundits and other media figures were looking to New Hampshire to provide a speedy vote count and clear-cut results. Whoever is the victor will still face formidable contests this month in Nevada and South Carolina, as well as the presence of Michael Bloomberg. He has poured hundreds of millions in the race and is skipping the early primary states to focus on Super Tuesday.
One candidate left the state earlier on Tuesday: Joe Biden. He and campaign staffers had signaled that they did not expect to do well in New Hampshire, and argue that a better measurement of his prospects will come in a more diverse state. He and his wife Jill Biden flew to South Carolina, where they will address his New Hampshire supporters by livestream.
Also trailing in early returns was Elizabeth Warren, who is from the neighboring state of Massachusetts. She began to fall from the top of the polls as Sanders consolidated support on the left, starting with a key endorsement last fall from Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, the New York congresswoman.
At the Buttigieg primary night event in Nashua, NH, the campaign had set up a stage and walkway in a community college gymnasium, with the scoreboard time set for 20:20 and the result set at 46-46 (for the number of the next president.) His supporters lined up and chanted, “I believe Pete will win New Hampshire.”