Voting in the first primary has begun across New Hampshire. Democratic Party officials hope everyone will put the Iowa debacle behind them and that tonight will be smoother sailing. The New York Times writes:
“For the first time since 2004, nobody dropped out after Iowa, sending the full field of Democratic candidates from that state on to New Hampshire. Now Granite State voters will be left with the responsibility of informing candidates which of them won’t go on — if only they’ll listen.“
The story here is not so much who wins, but who fades and who surges. If the polling is accurate, Bernie Sanders will come out on top with Pete Buttigieg close behind. After those two, it gets messy. The presumptive front runner, Joe Biden, could fall to fifth place tonight and Amy Klobuchar is hoping a late surge will lead her to perhaps a third place finish. Suffice it to say it is a very fluid race.
Looming on the outside with a large pile of cash and small bit of momentum is Michael Bloomberg, who is passing on the early states and banking it all on Super Tuesday in March. But the biggest surprise is Biden, long thought to be the most electable Democrat. A poor finish in New Hampshire could mean the money suddenly dries up.
Politico is reporting a super PAC for Biden is warning of a doomsday scenario if the former frontrunner is forced from the race.
“A memo from the Unite the Country super PAC to donors, obtained by POLITICO, asserts that the party could pay a steep price if Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg or Amy Klobuchar is chosen as the nominee. Most ominously, it raises the specter of Sanders and billionaire Mike Bloomberg squaring off at a split convention.
“Donors hedging their bets on Biden because of Bloomberg could be creating a doomsday scenario for Democrats everywhere,” the group’s treasurer, Larry Rasky, wrote. “The Sanders-Warren wing of the Party is ready for the Bloomberg fight. Democrats cannot afford a split Convention.“
