Beyond New Hampshire, Where Are Democrats Headed?

WAMU 88.5 | By Kathryn Fink

Published February 7, 2020 at 1:53 PM EST

People line up to hear Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg speak at Merrimack American Legion Post 98 in Merrimack, New Hampshire.

Democrats competing for the party’s nomination are now in New Hampshire for the state’s primary election after a chaotic week in Iowa.

Many polls have Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the lead. However, after a faulty app made reporting caucus results difficult in Iowa, voters are restless. The state is still very much up for grabs. Some two-fifths of New Hampshire Democratic voters say that they could switch candidates before the primary on Tuesday.

However, not all are so enthused with the Vermont politician’s lead. In the run-up to the primary, fellow Democratic frontrunner Mayor Pete Buttigieg has criticized Sanders’ policies, positioning himself as a more pragmatic choice. Elsewhere, Democratic operative James Carville scoffed at the idea that Sanders would be the Democratic nominee for president, signaling a strong divide between the more left members of the party and its established leaders.

What will results from the Granite State primary mean for the campaigns moving forward? And in which direction are they moving?

We start with an update on the primary and its ramifications. Then, we examine the state of the Democratic party as it stands today.