Sanders takes slim lead in New Hampshire

In Democratic primary, Buttigieg runs strong again as Klobuchar surprises; Biden, Warren falter

Bernie Sanders capitalized on a near home-field advantage to take a slim lead in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, but he appears to have a new challenger.

The US senator, who represents neighboring Vermont, built on his showing in last week's chaotic caucuses in Iowa, in which he and Pete Buttigieg, the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, finished in a virtual tie, with Buttigieg a narrow victor.

Although this time around in New Hampshire, in addition to Buttigieg, who was in second and gaining ground as of 10:15 pm ET, Sanders got some competition from another emerging candidate, US Senator Amy Klobuchar, 59, of Minnesota.

With 64 percent of precincts counted, Sanders had 25.9 percent of the vote; Buttigieg had 24.1 percent; Klobuchar had 20.1 percent; US Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts had 9.5 percent and former vice-president Joe Biden had 8.4 percent.

Two Midwesterners going into New England and taking a good chunk of the votes shows that Sanders could be in a tough battle the rest of the primary season.

"People who had enough of the name-calling and the mudslinging have someone to vote for in November," a confident Klobuchar told supporters in Concord, New Hampshire, on Tuesday evening. "We define grit; you see it in our happy, scrappy campaign."

Biden, who had maintained front-runner status in the polls before the actual voting started, left New Hampshire early and headed down to South Carolina, which will hold its primary on Saturday, Feb 29.

Biden, 77, hopes to boost his faltering campaign by winning key support from African American voters in South Carolina.

He held a rally in Columbia, South Carolina, on Tuesday night, but also livestreamed to supporters in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Sanders, 78, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, has had to contend with what many perceive to be a lack of support from the Democratic National Committee. Sanders has long advocated for free national healthcare, or Medicare for All, along with free college tuition.

Those positions, also supported by Warren, have been met with skepticism from some of the more moderate politicians in the party who are seeking the White House, such as Klobuchar and Biden.

Warren, who not long ago was leading in some polls and was building her bonafides with women voters, now will have a tougher road with Klobuchar having passed her.

According to exit polls, 57 percent of the voters in the New Hampshire primary were women.

Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer had 3.6 percent of the vote in New Hampshire, followed by US Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who had 3.2 percent.

Andrew Yang, who had only about 2.8 percent of the New Hampshire vote, announced Tuesday evening that he is suspending his campaign.

The entrepreneur Yang, 45, the son of immigrants from Taiwan, became known for his "Freedom Dividend" in which he called for a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American after they turn 18.

Although managing to qualify for all the previous Democratic debates except one, Yang built his following through a strong internet presence.

US Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado also announced Tuesday that he would suspend his campaign. He received under 1 percent of the votes in New Hampshire.

US President Donald Trump coasted to victory in the New Hampshire Republican primary with 86 percent of the vote as of 10 pm ET. Former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld notched a little under 9 percent.