Socialist senator Bernie Sanders and centrist Pete Buttigieg, in the stance of favorites, were fighting this Tuesday for the votes of the Democrats of New Hampshire, a new stage in a very indecisive competition whose winner will challenge Donald Trump in the presidential election in November.
After flying over national polls in recent months, Joe Biden seemed to resolve a disappointment in this border state of Canada, two weeks after a first setback in Iowa: the former vice-president of Barack Obama was surprised canceled his campaign evening in New Hampshire to head for the state of South Carolina, where he plans to revive. "I am not leaving New Hampshire," said the moderate septuagenarian, justifying his absence on election night by two campaign rallies, in South Carolina and Nevada, the next two states to vote in the progress of the primaries.
A surprise candidate?
Behind Sanders and Buttigieg, in a pocket handkerchief with Biden, the other big candidates for the democratic nomination hope to create the surprise, to find a new breath… or to avoid the collapse of their campaign.
In the average New Hampshire poll, Joe Biden is only fourth tied with progressive senator Elizabeth Warren, just behind other senator Amy Klobuchar, who shares centrist ideas with him. In the majority of the state, the offices open from 6 a.m. (11 a.m. GMT) and will allow voters to vote until 8 p.m. (1 a.m. GMT Wednesday).
At the gymnasium of Northwest Primary School in Manchester, the main city in the state, where statues of liberty were printed on the voting booths, some 200 people had already cast their ballot in the ballot box early Tuesday morning, found l AFP.
A secret ballot
The candidates campaigned until late Monday to wrest favors from voters in this small state in the northeast of the country. And Pete Buttigieg, 38, the youngest of them, still lent himself to the selfie game this Tuesday morning in front of several polling stations. "The choice you make today will determine the future of our nation," he said on Twitter on Tuesday, calling for "building a coalition to beat Trump in November." "
New Hampshire, the choice you make today will shape our nation's future.
If you're ready to leave the old ways of Washington behind and make real progress, vote today. Together, we'll build the coalition we need to defeat Trump in November.
It was he who had won by a hair before Bernie Sanders on February 3 during assemblies of voters in Iowa, the first state to vote for these primaries. This time, the ballot is held by secret ballot.
Mike Schowalter, 39, a lawyer voted for Bernie Sanders. "I know it's a little weird, but I think a lot of things in our country are broken," he told AFP from an airy center in Concord. John Williams of the polling station expected "pretty good turnout" in the snow.
United against Trump, with divergent views
For a long time courteous, the battle is now fierce in the leading pack, where the pikes are blasting. And it is played under the ironic eye of Donald Trump, who likes to mock the war between his potential rivals. "They are all weak," he unchecked Monday evening towards the Democratic candidates. The ten rivals vying to challenge him in November, as well as their voters, agree on one point: we must beat Donald Trump. But their visions diverge.
On the left of the party, advocating a political "revolution" in order to achieve a more egalitarian society, independent senator Bernie Sanders, 78, comfortably dominates the polls in this state, neighboring his stronghold in Vermont. He is followed by Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of the town of South Bend (100,000 inhabitants). Former military, first openly gay candidate as well placed in the race for the White House, he pleads for a "realistic" policy and a helping hand to independent and Republican voters, while criticizing the funding of the program of Bernie Sanders.
Behind them, pressure is strong on Joe Biden since his meager fourth place in Iowa. With a long political experience, he presents himself as the best asset to beat Donald Trump. By hammering that he will not give up the race "whatever happens" on Tuesday, the Biden team seems to be preparing for another setback.
Omnipresent Bloomberg
To boost it to the summits, it is counting on a good performance in South Carolina, which will vote on February 29. There, the black population is very large and remains acquired by the former vice-president of Barack Obama. Struggling for his survival, Joe Biden attacks his rival at the center Pete Buttigieg, pinning his lack of experience in national politics. He also spares Bernie Sanders, saying it would be "difficult" to rally behind a "socialist" candidate.
Omnipresent even as he skipped the first four votes of the Democratic primaries in February, billionaire Michael Bloomberg climbed to third place in a nationwide poll released Monday. With almost unlimited financial means, he floods with advertisements the fifteen states which will vote when he enters the running on March 3 for "Super Tuesday".
World
Democratic primary: Sanders double Biden and Bloomberg take off in polls before New Hampshire
World
Democratic primary: Favorite Sanders, Biden back to the wall, Warren, Buttigieg and Bloomberg in ambush after Iowa
- Bernie Sanders
- Joe biden
- American presidential election
- Democratic primary
- World
- Donald trump
- United States