As former Vice President Joe Biden prepares to buck the New Hampshire primary and head to South Carolina, CNN correspondent Miguel Marquez may have some insight into why the former front-runner is fleeing the first-in-the-nation primary state before the final votes have even been counted.
During a live-update on the status of the New Hampshire primary, Marquez claimed that he hasn’t been able to find a single voter who supports Biden while interviewing people around a precinct in Dover, New Hampshire, a city where former Second Lady Jill Biden personally visited to open a campaign field office five months ago.
“Most surprising here is that, of all the voters I’ve talked to — and we’re talking probably upwards of 100 right now — not a single one saying they support Joe Biden,” Marquez told the news agency live and on-air.
While the first results of the New Hampshire primary have yet to arrive, the lack of Biden supporters may indicate trouble for the Granite State’s primary, which has been historically used to narrow the presidential primary field. According to The New York Times, in 2016, self-avowed democratic socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) handily won the city’s six precincts by a near 2-to-1 margin.
CNN reporter: “Of all the voters I talked to – probably upwards of 100 – not a single one said they support @JoeBiden.” pic.twitter.com/LABvcLbWxO
— Chris Martin (@chrisjdmartin) February 11, 2020
As The Daily Wire has previously reported, Biden plans to leave the state before the primary results have been announced, and will leave campaign surrogates to remain in New Hampshire to receive the results in-person as he travels to South Carolina to get a head start on the upcoming primary on February 29, which will take place one week after the Nevada caucuses.
Furthermore, while it’s unorthodox to leave the state of New Hampshire before the primary’s results have been revealed, the move may serve to subdue any potential questions from the media about Biden dropping out of the race should he perform poorly.
According to Politico, back in late-January, Biden acknowledged that he did not need the state to win the primary, but also assured a local reporter: “I think I can win New Hampshire. I will win New Hampshire.”
“If Biden comes in second in Iowa and second in New Hampshire, and it’s us against him, then he’s still viable,” a Sanders campaign adviser told the news agency ahead of the Iowa caucuses, where Biden placed fourth.
“But if he’s third or fourth in Iowa and third or fourth in New Hampshire, no one has ever, ever won the nomination coming out that weak in both those states,” continued the campaign adviser, reports the news agency. “Then we go into Nevada and win the first three [early states]. Then what’s his argument? Sure, he’ll win South Carolina. But it’s the Saturday before Super Tuesday so it doesn’t impact things as much. Then you’ll see how weak he is. And he has no money.”
As The Daily Wire previously reported, Biden told reporters “I think I’ll win the nomination,” shortly before voting began on Tuesday.