Moderates Prevail Among Dem Voters in New Hampshire

February 12, 2020 by Dan McCue
Moderates Prevail Among Dem Voters in New Hampshire
Gina Hammett, of Hinsdale, N.H., leaves the Millstream Community Center, in Hinsdale, after casting her vote in the New Hampshire presidential primary elections, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont eked out a win in New Hampshire by appealing to young, liberal college students in the state, but his victory was far from an endorsement of the party’s far left.

In fact, with more than 98% of precincts reporting as of Wednesday morning (294 of 301), the combined vote for the more moderate Democrats in the race, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and former Vice President Joe Biden far surpassed that of the Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

As of 12:30 p.m., the total vote for the moderates was 155,456, while the vote for the left-of-center candidates was just 103,100.

An AP VoteCast survey of 3,111 voters conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for the Associated Press and Fox News, found a majority of New Hampshire voters described themselves as moderates, while 22% said they were very liberal, 17% somewhat liberal and 6% described themselves as conservative.

A majority of voters who considered themselves “very liberal” supported Sanders, AP VoteCast found.

The 78-year-old Vermont senator also won support from voters younger than 45 and had a slight advantage among those without a college degree.

Roughly 3 in 10 of those who deemed the U.S. economic system “very unfair” favor Sanders to oversee the world’s leading financial power.

Meanwhile Buttigieg held a slight advantage with moderate voters, though roughly a quarter of moderate voters went with Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and about 1 in 10 went for former Vice President Joe Biden.

The survey suggests the scrum of conflicting ideologies could set up a bruising round of election contests in the weeks ahead, and also found that it is unclear whether Democrats will be able to set aside their differences and regroup ahead of the fall campaign against Trump.

The results from AP VoteCast suggest that Sanders’ younger and generally more liberal supporters distrust their fellow Democrats, a potential reflection of the Vermont senator losing the 2016 nomination to Hillary Clinton.

One factor driving this is the trouble the Iowa state party had tabulating results in last week’s caucuses, an issue that has yet to be fully resolved. The situation appears to have rattled some voters amid uncertainty about who is the Democratic front-runner.

Only 15% of New Hampshire voters said they were very confident  the party’s nominating process is fair, while 45% said they were somewhat confident and 39% said they were not confident at all.

The skepticism was clearest among Sanders’ backers, with about 6 in 10 saying they had little or no confidence in the Democratic primary process. Majorities of voters for every other top Democratic contender described the primary process as fair.

Yet after months of campaigns and debates, New Hampshire voters are still settling on the ideal moderate choice. Of the state Democrats who made a decision in the days before the primary, about half went to Buttigieg and Klobuchar.

Voters see liabilities in many of the Democrats vying to run against Trump. About 6 in 10 said a candidate with strongly liberal views would have difficulty competing with the incumbent president, evidence that Sanders and Warren may be struggling to make the electability argument outside their base.

But roughly 6 in 10 also said a gay nominee — Buttigieg — would face greater hardship in the general election.

At least 6 in 10 said they would ultimately be satisfied with Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Sanders or Warren as their presidential candidate. Fewer — about half — said they would be pleased if Biden became the nominee.

As for the role gender played in Tuesday’s vote, AP VoteCast found men and women nearly equally divided in their preferences. The biggest percentage point difference between men and women’s preferences related to Sens. Klobuchar and Warren.

Three percent more women than men said they preferred Klobuchar (21% to 18%), while 4% more women than men said they preferred Warren (11% to 7%).

The most equal split among the sexes related to Sanders, who garnered the support of 26% of men and 26% of men.

Both Buttigieg and Biden did slightly better with men, with the former vice president appealing to 9% of men and 8% of women, while Buttigieg garnered the support of 26% of men and 24% of women.

Broader questions about fairness in U.S. society have been a central concern for the Democratic candidates.

An overwhelming share of New Hampshire Democrats — nearly 8 in 10 — view the economy as unfair. But among the roughly 2 in 10 who believe the economy is fair, there was an opening for a Democrat whose name was not on the ballot in New Hampshire. These voters gave a slight edge on leading the economy to Mike Bloomberg, the former New York City Mayor with a personal fortune in excess of $60 billion.

The AP VoteCast New Hampshire survey was conducted for seven days, concluding as polls closed. Interviews were conducted in English or Spanish. The survey was based on interviews with a random sample of registered voters drawn from the state voter file. The margin of sampling error for voters is estimated to be plus or minus 3.0 percentage points.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A+
a-
  • 2020 Election
  • Amy Klobuchar
  • Joe Biden
  • moderates
  • New Hampshire
  • Pete Buttigieg
  • primary
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    2020 Elections

    Pro-Trump Michigan Attorney Arrested After Hearing in DC Over Leaking Dominion Documents

    An attorney facing criminal charges for illegally accessing Michigan voting machines after the 2020 election was arrested Monday after a... Read More

    An attorney facing criminal charges for illegally accessing Michigan voting machines after the 2020 election was arrested Monday after a hearing in a separate case in federal court in Washington, D.C. Stefanie Lambert was arrested by U.S. Marshals after a hearing over possible sanctions against her... Read More

    Judge to Consider Whether to Remove District Attorney Fani Willis From Georgia Election Case

    ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia judge who is deciding whether to toss Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis off of... Read More

    ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia judge who is deciding whether to toss Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis off of her election interference case against former President Donald Trump has set a hearing for Thursday that is expected to focus on details of Willis' personal relationship with a special prosecutor she hired.... Read More

    Tape Reveals Donald Trump Pressured Michigan Officials Not to Certify 2020 Vote, New Report Says

    AP — Donald Trump pressured two election officials not to certify 2020 vote totals in a key Michigan county, according... Read More

    AP — Donald Trump pressured two election officials not to certify 2020 vote totals in a key Michigan county, according to a recording of a post-election phone call disclosed in a new report by The Detroit News. The former president 's 2024 campaign neither confirmed nor denied the recording's... Read More

    Appeals Court Says Mark Meadows Can’t Move Georgia Election Case Charges to Federal Court

    ATLANTA (AP) — A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows cannot move... Read More

    ATLANTA (AP) — A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows cannot move charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia to federal court. Meadows was indicted in August along with former President Donald Trump and 17 others... Read More

    December 15, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    Jury Slaps Giuliani With $148M in Damages in Defamation Case

    WASHINGTON — After a four-day civil trial, a jury of eight District of Columbia residents awarded two Georgia workers more... Read More

    WASHINGTON — After a four-day civil trial, a jury of eight District of Columbia residents awarded two Georgia workers more than $148 million in their defamation case against Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor turned Trump acolyte. Giuliani was found liable for defaming Ruby... Read More

    December 8, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    Appeals Court Largely Upholds Trump DC Gag Order

    WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court panel on Friday largely upheld a gag order imposed on former President Donald Trump... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court panel on Friday largely upheld a gag order imposed on former President Donald Trump in the criminal case accusing him of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, but loosened it just enough to allow criticism of the... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top