NH scene highlights riddles of Biden’s 2020 ‘candidacy’
‘Optics overrated’
MANCHESTER, NH, Sept 8, (AP): When Joe Biden took the stage in New Hampshire, he was greeted with the respect that comes with being a former vice- president. Some of his closest rivals were greeted more like rock stars.
The scene at New Hampshire’s Democratic convention on Saturday highlighted one of the riddles of Biden’s candidacy: He maintains a lead in nearly every poll, but his campaign events often lack the look and feel of a front-runner. His crowds are warm, but rarely high-energy. His organization is solid, but doesn’t always show up in force at key events that help shape the perceptions of political power brokers.
Biden’s team insists such optics are overrated as indicators of a candidate’s strength. The former vicepresident, they argue, is unique in the Democratic field because of a reservoir of goodwill from a broad group of supporters who know him so well they don’t necessarily need to see him campaign or otherwise demonstrate their support in public.
“I think people can be fooled by the crowd size,” said Terry Shumaker, a staunch Biden supporter in New Hampshire. Shrugging off “lots of noise for some candidates,” Shumaker compared Biden’s support to an iceberg, where only one-seventh is visible. But after the 2016 campaign, enthusiasm is on the minds of Democrats. The party downplayed the large crowds at Donald Trump’s high-octane rallies throughout that campaign, predicting it wouldn’t translate into an Election Day victory. Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, headlined smaller events and ultimately struggled to match Republican enthusiasm.
Biden
Enthusiasm
Heading into 2020, there is no question that Democrats are highly energized at the prospect of ousting Trump, but far less clear is whether Biden is the vessel for that enthusiasm. On Saturday in New Hampshire’s largest city, the contrast between Biden and some of his Democratic rivals – particularly Massachusetts Sen Elizabeth Warren – was striking.
A sea of rowdy sign-waving Warren volunteers lined the sidewalks to greet convention attendees outside a Manchester sports arena before 7 am. They chanted, “LI-Z, she’s got a plan for me” as a band played.
Rival campaigns grumbled privately that Warren, who represents neighboring Massachusetts, was benefiting from a home-field advantage. At least some of Warren’s supporters came to New Hampshire from out of state, according to social media posts and interviews, as did other candidates’ backers, including Biden’s.
Biden’s team was more muted outside the venue, where the campaigns worked to flex their organizational muscle for one of the state’s largest political gatherings. And inside, Biden’s campaign appeared to get off to a slow start, with volunteers still scrambling to hand out campaign signs as the former vice president spoke.
By the time Warren took the stage hours later, her campaign had distributed hundreds of noise-making thundersticks and packed the arena with cheering supporters. The crowd gave her an ovation that spanned two full minutes.
To be sure, the weekend convention was full of Democratic activists who are not necessarily representative of the average primary voter. Independent voters, for example, are allowed to vote in New Hampshire’s February first-in-the-nation presidential primary and may be a strong source of support for Biden. They were not a significant presence at the partisan convention.