After defeating Hillary Clinton handily in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders could leave the Granite State with just as many delegates as the candidate he beat by 22 points.
Sanders netted 13 delegates thanks to his overwhelming primary win, leaving Clinton with nine. Two additional unallocated delegates are expected to be given to Sanders to bring his delegate count to 15, according to a report by The Hill.
But because Clinton started Tuesday with the backing of six “superdelegates” who are able to throw their support behind whoever they choose regardless of the primary’s outcome, the former secretary of state could ultimately tie up the New Hampshire race with an equal number of delegates.
Sanders led Clinton in the polls by 13 points heading into Tuesday’s vote, and outperformed even those high expectations with his resounding victory.
The contest came one week after Clinton and Sanders virtually tied in the Iowa caucus. Of the Hawkeye State’s 44 delegates, Clinton secured 23 and Sanders 21 thanks to Clinton’s surprisingly narrow win over Sanders.
Even so, Clinton leads Sanders substantially among superdelegates nationwide, giving her a significant advantage in terms of delegate count before most states cast a single ballot. The superdelegates are party leaders and officials who generally back the front-runner.
Sanders has just 42 total delegates to Clinton’s 394, according to the Associated Press. A Democratic candidate needs 2,382 to win the nomination.
The fact that Clinton could tie Sanders’ New Hampshire delegate count despite losing so steeply to the Vermont senator could feed his narrative that the political system is “rigged” in favor of a select few, a message he has hammered throughout his campaign.
