MANCHESTER, N.H. — Sen. Bernie Sanders narrowly edged out Pete Buttigieg in a nail-biting New Hampshire primary, winning a razor-thin victory in the Granite State after the chaotic Iowa caucuses, according to ABC, NBC and CBS network projections.
The self-described “Democratic socialist” and party outsider from Vermont won 26 percent of the vote but failed to turn out a revolution in his New England neighborhood and shake Buttigieg after they virtually tied in Iowa.
“The reason that we won this tonight in New Hampshire and we won in Iowa is our volunteers,” said a jubilant Sanders.
“We have an unprecedented grassroots movement from coast to coast. We are putting together a multi-gender, multiracial political movement. This is the movement from coast to coast that we finally have an economy and a government that works for all of us.”
And in a none-too-veiled swipe at Mike Bloomberg, he told the crowd, “At this point in the campaign, we are taking on billionaires and campaigns funded by billionaires.”
Buttigieg, the ex-South Bend, Ind., mayor, came very close to defeating the Vermont senator, posting a second-place finish with 24.3 percent of the vote and just over 4,000 ballots separating the two.
“Thanks to you, a campaign that some said shouldn’t be here at all has shown that we are here to stay,” the Afghanistan military veteran told the crowd just minutes earlier to cries of “President Pete!”
The New Hampshire result crowns Buttigieg as a serious contender for the nomination despite being constantly criticized for his lack of Washington experience, and sets up a fierce battle between the two candidates who dominate the progressive and moderate factions in the Democratic Party.
As Buttigieg told the crowd that he had admired Sanders since he was in high school and reminded them to “vote blue no matter who,” bitter Sanders fans on the other side of town loudly booed and cried, “Wall Street Pete.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota was also a big victor Tuesday night, finishing in third place with 19.8 of the vote after her lackluster fifth-place finish in last week’s Iowa caucus.
She will now expand her campaign operation in Nevada, South Carolina and several Super Tuesday states.
“Hello, America! I’m Amy Klobuchar, and I will beat Donald Trump,” she told the crowd at a rally in Concord. “My heart is full tonight. While there are still ballots left to count, we have beaten the odds every step of the way.”
Despite the overall win, Sanders and Buttigieg got the same number of New Hampshire’s 24 delegates, at nine apiece, with Klobuchar grabbing the other six.
It was a devastating night, however, for the campaigns of Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and especially former Vice President Joe Biden, who finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively, with 9.4 percent and 8.4 percent of the vote.
With less than 15 percent of the vote, both candidates walk away from the first-in-the-nation primary with zero delegates.
Tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang and Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet also suspended their long-shot campaigns after finishing with less than 3 percent of the vote.
Warren addressed her followers early in the night, accepting the bruising results but vowing to stay in the race and touting herself as the only candidate to unite the Democratic Party.
She also warned of a bitter factional battle between Sanders, the field’s most progressive candidate, and Buttigieg.
“We can’t afford to fall into factions. We can’t afford to squander our collective power. We will win when we come together,” the 70-year-old told her faithful.
Biden was 1,000 miles away in South Carolina, fleeing town before the polls had even closed to host an event where he vowed he would make a comeback with black voters by his side.
“It ain’t over, man. We’re just getting started,” he said.