MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — The stakes have never been higher heading into a 2020 Democratic primary debate.
Here in New Hampshire, many of the presidential candidates were off the campaign trail or had quieter schedules than usual ahead of next Tuesday’s primary election to prepare for the nationally televised event.
Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders will join Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren, and Andrew Yang at Saint Anselm College after the pair claimed victory in the botched Iowa caucuses. Now, they’ll have to defend their front-runner statuses in New Hampshire, statuses reflected in a slew of recent polls.
Biden’s last stand
Biden, 77, is a White House hopeful in search of a lifeline.
The former vice president’s campaign is banking on strong performances in Nevada on Feb. 22 and South Carolina on Feb. 29 before the field competes in the 14 Super Tuesday states and entities on March 3. But, after a dismal “gut punch” showing in Iowa, he has to save face in New Hampshire to stay in the race, lacking the resources of rivals, such as Sanders, 78, and already firing staff over the first-in-the-nation debacle.
In a potential sign of panic, the 36-year Delaware senator this week adopted a more combative approach to his chief competitors for the nomination, namely Sanders and Buttigieg, 38, who are neck and neck to finish first in Iowa. Watch to see whether he’ll use the same rhetoric while sharing the stage with them in Manchester rather than from the safe distance of a rally or a press gaggle.
Buttigieg under pressure
All eyes will be on Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
Buttigieg’s unlikely White House bid surprised many by coming so close to Sanders in the opening caucuses. Buttigieg, whose only other national race was a failed attempt to become Democratic National Committee chairman, will vie in New Hampshire against the Vermont senator with higher name recognition as a public figure from a neighboring state who’s run for the Oval Office before.
The openly gay Afghanistan War veteran with an Ivy League pedigree will have a target on his back, as he did during November’s Atlanta debate amid a polling surge and during December’s Los Angeles round after hosting a fundraiser in a Napa Valley “wine cave.” He has to fend off attacks to do well in New Hampshire, and many pundits suspect he will struggle in Nevada and South Carolina because of his woes wooing minority Democrats.
Warren in search of a moment
Warren, 70, has a lot to prove on Friday night.
Despite being on track to place third in Iowa, the Massachusetts senator’s momentum from the summer has slipped away. Although the debates haven’t boosted candidates for sustained periods, a small leg up could help her over the line in a state where she’s projected to do reasonably well as a next-door senator with a solid ground game. Her last outing was subsumed by her and Sanders’s spat.
After overperforming in Iowa, Sanders and Klobuchar, his 59-year-old Senate colleague from Minnesota, don’t have the same burden. Sanders is expected to sail home in New Hampshire, a state where he defeated Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Democratic primary by 20 percentage points. Meanwhile, Klobuchar’s underdog status has shielded her from scrutiny so far. Without the fundraising pull of her opponents, however, a dearth of money may mean she bows out of contention, surging too late.
Yang’s reappearance
Yang, 45, is back on the debate stage after failing to qualify for the Iowa installment.
Yang’s reemergence comes just in the nick of time: The entrepreneur and nonprofit organization executive is relying on New Hampshire, having lived in the state as a boarding school student. His grassroots support, fueled by newcomers to the political process, was stymied in the kickoff caucuses given the complexity of the proceedings. He’s hoping his anti-establishment, universal basic income platform resonates in the “Live Free or Die” state.
Tom Steyer, the other candidate at risk of becoming an also-ran after New Hampshire, will likely reprise his attacks on Buttigieg. Steyer, 62, previewed some of the hedge fund manager and Democratic megadonor’s possible salvos during a CNN town hall this week, criticizing the mayor for both his lack of appeal to minority Democrats and his business experience relevant to running one of the world’s largest economies.
