MANCHESTER, N.H. — Sen. Bernie Sanders has won the New Hampshire primary.
Addressing a raucous crowd of more than 1,000 people on the Southern New Hampshire University campus, Sanders promised he would go on to defeat President Donald Trump in the general election.
“Let me thank the people of New Hampshire for a great victory tonight,” Sanders said.
“This victory here is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump,” Sanders bellowed to loud cheers.
The Vermont senator beat out former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. While Sanders won the popular vote, he was awarded nine delegates — the same number as Buttigieg — out of the 24 up for grabs in the first-in-the-nation-primary.
Neither Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., met the minimum votes required to receive any delegates.
Sanders held a 1.6 point lead over Buttigieg with more than 89% of precincts reporting — 26% to 24.4%. Klobuchar was at 19.7%, Warren at 9.3% and Biden at 8.4%.
Earlier on Tuesday, Sanders seemed confident though he tempered expectations.
Speaking to a gaggle of reporters and supporters outside a polling location in Manchester, Sanders said the Senate impeachment trial may have stopped him from gaining as much support in the primary as he otherwise would have, but that he was confident his showing would be significant.
“We have an agenda that speaks to the needs of working families all across this country, who in many cases feel that Washington has turned its back on them,” Sanders said.
“It’s going to resonate here in New Hampshire and I believe it’s going to resonate all over this country,” he said.
“That is a message that is going to win this election and defeat Donald Trump,” Sanders added.
Last week, polls began to show Buttigieg would likely be Sanders’ top rival in the primary. Sanders and Buttigieg traded barbs throughout the runup to the vote. It culminated during the Feb. 7 debate in which Buttigieg claimed the Vermont senator’s political style is dividing the country.
In 2016, Sanders beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 22.4 points in the Granite State contest — earning 15 delegates — which launched his ultimately failed bid to win the Democratic nomination.
This election cycle has many differences from the race four years ago, but after a top two finish in the Iowa caucuses and victory in New Hampshire, Sanders’ momentum is growing.
For the first time since former Vice President Joe Biden entered the race, Sanders leads in Morning Consult’s weekly national polls. Until Feb. 9, Biden had been ahead of the Vermont senator in the survey of Democratic voters.
Outside the McDonough Elementary School in Manchester, voters said they believed Sanders was the strongest candidate in the field and he gives Democrats the best shot at defeating Trump.
“I’ve been for Bernie Sanders since 2016, I just think he’s the one in all the candidates I think should be able to withstand the man in the White House right now,” said Daron Abbe.
Maria Arzola, smoking a cigarette as she watched the gaggle of local and national press surround Sanders, said he had also been weighing whether to support Sanders, Buttigieg or Klobuchar, but was leaning toward the Vermont senator.
“I think he’s got the best chance at beating that son-of-a-behind,” Arzola said, referring to Trump.
The Vermont senator is now headed to the Super Tuesday states of North Carolina and a three-day tour through Texas, beginning Friday, before traveling to Nevada to make his final pitch to voters before the Feb. 22 caucus. Sanders and Biden are in a virtual tie — with 18% and 19% respectively — in Nevada, according to the most recent polling.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated the amount of delegates awarded to Sanders.
