Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s presidential campaign is experiencing a last-minute surge ahead of tomorrow’s New Hampshire primary election.
Two new polls have the Minnesota Democrat in third place, behind Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg but ahead of both Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden. This is a significant and much-needed gain for the self-proclaimed realist, especially after she failed to make her mark in the Iowa caucuses, in part, probably, because the Senate’s impeachment trial kept her tied up in Washington.
Klobuchar has received a fair amount of national attention — the New York Times endorsed her alongside Warren — but enthusiasm for her campaign has been scant. Now, that seems to be changing. Her strong performance in last week’s Democratic primary debate solidified her image as a pragmatist who is willing to make tough calls and even criticize her party’s left wing. She’s carried that image into her recent campaign events in New Hampshire, and it seems to be making an impact.
It’s almost as if we’re seeing an entirely different side of Klobuchar. She’s more willing to go on the offensive and call out her Democratic opponents, whereas before, she hesitated to engage in direct attacks. Klobuchar seemed timid before Iowa. Now, she seems confident. “We feel the surge,” she said this week, noting she’s visited New Hampshire more than 23 times since she announced her candidacy last year. “For me, it’s been a long time coming.”
Klobuchar’s newfound self-assurance could have something to do with Biden’s collapse. The former vice president had a disastrous showing in Iowa, and he’s lagging in New Hampshire’s polls, too. The Biden team’s hopes now depend on South Carolina, but even that won’t be enough to revitalize his drowning campaign.
As Biden sinks and Warren founders, it makes sense that Democratic voters are now turning to a female centrist who has branded herself as the bridge between the Democratic Party and the centrists and independents dissatisfied with the Trump administration.
Buttigieg’s message is quite similar, so Klobuchar will need to beat him in New Hampshire if her campaign is going to survive. Given Buttigieg’s Iowa victory, it’s unlikely that Klobuchar can overtake him, but she could do it yet. A Boston Globe poll found that Buttigieg has 19% support, compared to her 14%. She gained 5 points in one day this weekend, so who’s to say she can’t do so again?
The biggest obstacle for Klobuchar will be the lack of fervor for her campaign. Any reporter covering the 2020 campaign will tell you that Sanders’s supporters are truly passionate about his campaign. The same goes for Buttigieg’s and, to a certain extent, Warren’s. The problem with Biden’s campaign was always its inability to replicate this kind of enthusiasm. The voters who consistently support Biden do so for one reason: electability, and, now, even that has been called into question.
Klobuchar faces a similar dilemma. She’s positioned herself as the electable candidate who can bridge the divide, but Biden is evidence that, in today’s Democratic base, that isn’t enough. New Hampshire is Klobuchar’s opportunity to prove voters wrong, and she’s well on her way to doing just that.
