The field of 2020 presidential contenders narrowed after coming up short in the New Hampshire primary.
About halfway through the polls closing in the Granite State, Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur who championed universal basic income and raised the alarm about automation in the workplace, announced that he would suspend his presidential bid.
“I am the math guy, and it’s clear from the numbers we’re not going to win this campaign,” Yang told supporters in New Hampshire. “So tonight, I’m announcing that I am suspending my campaign.”
Sen. Michael Bennet (Colo.) also announced later Tuesday that he was suspending his campaign, “I think it’s fitting for us to end the campaign tonight,” he told supporters.
Bennet also vowed to campaign “all over this country to make sure we win that majority in United States Senate.”
Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick — who made a late entrance into the race — did not drop out on Tuesday, but said he would “make some decisions” on Wednesday morning about the future of his campaign.
Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) came out of the top in New Hampshire. As of Wednesday morning with 97% of the vote in, Sanders was leading former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg by just over 4,000 votes.
Sanders had been expected to win the state, which neighbors his home state of Vermont, the question was by what margin would he win. Recent polls showed Sanders with an average lead of seven points.
Buttigieg shot into second place in New Hampshire polls after he eeked out a victory in the Iowa caucuses on February 3, and managed to capitalize on that momentum ending the night with a strong showing.
One of the biggest surprises of the night came from Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) had who had a strong third-place finish after seeing a last-minute surge in support following what many said was a strong debate performance on February 8.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) came in a disappointing fourth place, raising questions about how long her campaign could survive.
And former Vice President Joe Biden finished in fifth place but vowed to continue to campaign in South Carolina and Nevada. In the lead up to the primary, Biden tried to lower expectations ahead of the primary, as he said that he would “probably take a hit” in New Hampshire.
In a sign that his campaign was expecting a poor performance, Biden announced that he would skip a previously planned victory party in New Hampshire and travel to South Carolina.
Biden’s disappointing performances in Iowa and New Hampshire have led some to begin to take a look at former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg — who has cast himself as a moderate and spent the bulk of his time in states that hold primaries on Super Tuesday — as a possible alternative to Sanders.
In recent weeks, Bloomberg has seen an uptick in support nationally, jumping into third-place according to an average of the polls. It’s still too early to tell if Bloomberg’s support will translate into actual votes, but on Tuesday, Bloomberg received three write-in votes in one tiny town in New Hampshire — where he was not even on the ballot.
