Dem disarray in Iowa does front-runners no favors heading into New Hampshire

Democrats crawled out of the wreckage of Iowa’s caucus debacle robbed of a big bounce and now must count on New Hampshire to sort out the front-runners from the also-rans.

The screwups and long delays in counting has made Iowa and the Democratic Party the laughingstock of the political world and likely signals an end to the state’s long-cherished first-in-the-nation contest status.

But despite the muted impact of the caucuses, there were clear winners and losers among the Democratic contenders.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren — a one-time front-runner in Iowa — limps home to New England with a lackluster third-place finish and needs a win in her backyard next week.

Former Vice President Joe Biden got a little lucky — the snafus in Iowa overshadowed his weak fourth-place showing. But Biden supporters, including establishment Democrats, are now in a mini-panic as he heads toward the Granite State, which is not great territory for him.

Biden’s supposed firewall is in South Carolina, and if he fails to win there his campaign could quickly implode.

Former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders were battling for the top prize in Iowa, with Buttigieg holding a small lead with just more than 60% of precincts reporting as the Iowa debacle dragged on Tuesday. Buttigieg stands at 27% of the delegates in Iowa, with Sanders trailing at 25%, Warren at 18%, Biden at 16% and Amy Klobuchar in fifth place with 13%. It’s unclear when the final results in Iowa will be tabulated.

Sanders’ momentum will be slowed if he fails to catch Buttigieg, and the Vermont senator needs a win in neighboring New Hampshire, where he crushed Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Buttigieg didn’t get the bounce he was hoping for from his “victorious” showing in Iowa because of the long delays in reporting the results, but he could capitalize and catch fire in the Granite State leading up to the primary next Tuesday. New Hampshire is full of moderate, independent-minded voters and that could be fertile territory for Mayor Pete.

Then there’s another clear winner, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who skipped Iowa and isn’t even on the ballot in New Hampshire. Bloomberg saved himself millions of dollars by not competing in the caucuses. He was hoping for a muddy result coming out of Iowa, and that’s what he got. The billionaire businessman’s strategy is to win states on Super Tuesday, March 3, and vault himself into the picture.

The stakes are especially big for Warren and Sanders as the battleground shifts to New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary. Both are battling to lead the progressive wing of the party, and both are neighboring senators with a hometown advantage.

If Warren loses again to Sanders in the Granite State, it will be hard for her to argue that she’s the progressive choice of Democrats. Sanders’ followers are so devoted that they are unlikely to switch over to Warren in the coming contests.

But the biggest loser in Iowa was the Democratic Party, which wants to run your health care and the economy but couldn’t get its act together to do its one important job — count the votes.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2UlwZTk