Klobuchar steps over Biden and Warren for delegates in New Hampshire

“Hello, America. I’m Amy Klobuchar, and I’ll beat Donald Trump,” she said in Concord. “My heart is full tonight. While there are ballots still to count, we have beaten odds every step of the way. We have done it on the merits, we have done it with ideas, and we have done it with hard work.”

On a campaign high after finishing a close fifth behind former Vice President Joe Biden in Iowa, the Minnesota senator this week described herself as “unleashed” following the wrap-up of President Trump’s impeachment trial, which had her tied up in Washington, D.C., and unable to concentrate on her White House bid.

A strong debate performance last Friday, timed just as New Hampshire’s large bloc of undecided likely primary voters were tuning into the race, piqued interest in her candidacy, boosted her crowd numbers at events over the weekend, attracted some much-needed donations, and helped her place third in two separate tracking polls.

On the trail, she touted how she was the only presidential hopeful on the stage to confidently raise her hand, indicating she disagreed with the idea of having a socialist, such as Bernie Sanders, on the top of the Democratic ticket for the general election.

Building on her message that voters disenchanted with partisan politics had a “home” with her, Klobuchar’s closing pitch was a mashup of reassuring New Hampshire she understood their struggles and calling for party unity before November.

“There is a complete lack of empathy in this guy in the White House right now, and I will bring that to you. If you have trouble stretching your paycheck to pay for that rent, I know you, and I will fight for you. If you have trouble deciding if you’re going to pay for your childcare or your long-term care, I know you and I will fight for you,” she said in her final ad buy in the state.

Klobuchar’s delegate count on Tuesday night can be added to the one delegate she picked up in Iowa, the first-in-the-nation contest where she slowly but steadily grew support since a sluggish summer via old-fashioned retail politics based on her Midwestern commonsense and sense of humor. Those assets earned her endorsements from both the New York Times and a slew of New Hampshire newspapers.

For Becky Tise, 62, Klobuchar’s best characteristic is that she “doesn’t waste words like the guy that’s occupying the White House.”

“Amy’s economy of words, it’s all about an issue every time she opens her mouth except for the occasional humor, which people love. It’s a really good way to deliver a message and get points across,” the Portsmouth leadership consultant told the Washington Examiner after a Klobuchar town hall in Exeter.

Amy Teas, 41, believes Klobuchar speaks to people like her who are “undeclared” and “turned off” by “diehard” Democrats and Republicans.

“I like how she has worked across the aisle already, so she’s not saying what she’s going to do, she’s saying, ‘This is what I’ve done,'” the Nashua stay-at-home mother said after a Klobuchar event in her home town. “And she’s reasonable. She’s not extreme, and wild, and outrageous. She’s also not accusatory and offensive. She’s just what every level-headed person would want.

However, her success in New Hampshire isn’t unencumbered. She’s likely to face greater scrutiny ahead of Nevada’s first-in-the-West round, particularly regarding her tenure as Minnesota’s most populous county’s chief prosecutor. The attacks were previewed during an appearance on The View earlier Tuesday.

“Are we prosecuting Amy Klobuchar today?” host Joy Behar asked Sunny Hostin after she spent most of the segment tearing into the senator.

She will also need to bridge an organizing gap between her and rivals with greater financial and staffing resources, especially ahead of Super Tuesday on March 3, when delegates in 14 states, including her home state of Minnesota, will be up for grabs.