New Hampshire primary: For 2020 Democrats, Granite State is boom or bust

Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg are setting the pace in a still-crowded field, says Clark Mindock, as President Trump attempts to steal the spotlight with his own rally

Bernie Sanders greets supporters after a campaign event in Rindge, New Hampshire (Getty)

With a year’s worth of hard work and campaigning hanging in the balance, Democratic presidential candidates have stormed across New Hampshire this week, hoping to make a connection with voters in the state as temperatures have dropped and the race has heated up.

In communities across the state, volunteers from across the country have knocked on doors and made phone calls to support their politicians of choice. Yard signs are ubiquitous, sticking out from snow banks and taped to poles advertising candidates from Elizabeth Warren to Andrew Yang to Tulsi Gabbard along roads in towns across the Granite State.

The stakes are high. In election years past, New Hampshire voters have made the difference between winners and losers, playing an important role in slimming down strong fields by signalling to national voters and potential donors who is a viable candidate and who is not. For Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg, the top performers in the recent Iowa caucus, there is added pressure: the failure to meet expectations would put a major dent in their 2020 prospects.