DEMS OUT OF THE GATE, ON TO GRANITE STATE
Pollster says momentum from Iowa can be key in weeks ahead
Democratic candidates are heading straight to New Hampshire now that the first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses in Iowa Monday night are behind them — the top finishers with major momentum, the stragglers reeling ahead of next week’s first primary.
“If you win and also if you exceed expectations, then you get the three M’s: media, money and momentum,” pollster John Zogby said as the Iowa caucuses kicked off. “It’s very much not only who wins but who surpasses expectations.”
Iowa is the “table setter” ahead of New Hampshire, he said.
“We’ll lose some candidates and we’ll lose more next week,” Zogby said of the acid tests of Iowa and New Hampshire. “We’ll start to know who’s going to be a finalist. There will definitely be a clearer picture.”
Democratic candidates will campaign all across New Hampshire on Tuesday. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren will host a town hall in Keene, former Vice President Joe Biden will hold a get-outthe-vote event in Nashua, and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders will hold a rally in Milford.
Other candidates are planning events in the Granite State on Tuesday and all week. The New Hampshire Democratic debate will be on Friday in Manchester. President Trump meanwhile is planning a rally in Manchester next Monday night.
The Iowa Democratic Party
said Monday night that caucus results were delayed due to “quality checks” and new reporting rules.
“The integrity of the results is paramount,” party spokesperson Mandy McClure said. “We have experienced a delay in the results due to quality checks and the fact that the IDP is reporting out three data sets for the first time.”
Des Moines County Democratic Chairman Tom Courtney blamed technology issues in his county, relaying precinct reports that the app created for caucus organizers to report results was “a mess.”
On the Republican side, President Trump easily won the Iowa caucuses, a largely symbolic vote as he was facing no significant opposi
tion.
Still, Trump’s campaign was using Monday’s contest in Iowa to test its organizational strength, deploying Cabinet secretaries, top Republican officials and Trump family members to the state.
Sanders has boosted his support in the Granite State in the past month. Sanders leads former Vice President Joe Biden by seven points — 31% to 24% — according to the latest Franklin Pierce University-Boston Herald NBC 10 Boston poll.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is at 17% and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is in fourth place at 8%.
In the 2016 Democratic primary, Sanders dominated Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire with a 22-point victory.