Sen. Amy Klobuchar was the New Hampshire primary’s biggest surprise.
The Democratic presidential candidate and Minnesota senator ended the night in third place with 19.8 percent of the vote and all precincts reporting, more than fourth-place candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren and fifth-place Vice President Joe Biden combined.
This comes after Klobuchar placed in fifth place at the Iowa Democratic caucuses, behind both Warren and Biden.
Seemingly in recognition of Klobuchar’s astounding performance, deafening cheers filled the air in Concord, New Hampshire as the comeback candidate greeted her gathered supporters after polls closed.
“We have done it on the merits, we have done it with ideas and we have done it with hard work,” Klobuchar said in her speech, “because we are resilient and strong as the people of this great nation.”
While Klobuchar did not take first place, trailing behind Sen.Bernie Sanders in first place and Mayor Pete Buttigieg in second, Warren congratulated Klobuchar on her win earlier that night during her own post-primary speech.
“I also want to congratulate my friend and colleague Amy Klobuchar,” Warren said in her speech, “for showing just how wrong the pundits can be when they count a woman out.”
In response to this praise, Klobuchar took the time to thank Warren for her encouraging words.
“As my friend Elizabeth noted earlier tonight, people told me, just like they told her, that they didn’t think a woman could be elected,” Klobuchar said. “In my case, it was elected to the U.S. Senate, no woman had ever done it before [in Minnesota] but I came back and I defied expectations and I won.”
Klobuchar also talked about how inclusive her campaign is and said that it is a safe space for Democrats, independents, moderates and Republicans alike.
“We live in a country of shared dreams,” Klobuchar said, “that no matter where you come from, no matter who you know, no matter the color of your skin, no matter where you worship, no matter who you love, that you can make it in the United States of America.”
Dressed top to bottom in campaign-branded clothes, badges and stickers, Klobuchar’s supporters were ecstatic over the candidate’s performance.
62-year-old Margo Burns, from Concord, New Hampshire, said Klobuchar’s moderate policies and charisma made her the perfect presidential candidate.
“[Klobuchar] has everything. She’s the right age, we’ve got three people in their 70s running and she’s 59,” Burns said. “She has lots of experience in Washington, she’s worked with other people and she’s really down to earth. When she talks I can see her being president, some of the others I can’t.”
Burns said the other Democratic contenders were not suitable and said she thought Warren’s policies seem far-fetched, while Buttigieg was too young and inexperienced.
Jesse Ellis, 50, from Chicago also attended the event and said he thinks Klobuchar is the best Democratic presidential candidate because of her moderate viewpoints.
“We need somebody that isn’t going to be going in one extreme or the other but can just maybe bring this country back to a sensible level,” Ellis said, “and I think she can do that.”
Michelle Tyler, 57, from Concord said that she supports Klobuchar because of her grit and her ability to convey her policies well during the debates. Specifically, Tyler said she was impressed by Klobuchar’s efforts to convince the Minnesota State Legislature to require that hospitals care for mothers and their newborn children for an additional 48 hours after birth.
These protections soon spread to the rest of the country after the U.S. Senate passed the Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act of 1996.
“I was directly affected by that because I was one of those moms who was pushed out in 24 hours,” Tyler said, “and for our next three children, that did not have to happen for 48 hours.”
David Hughes, 50, from Hopkinton, New Hampshire said he supports Klobuchar because of her integrity.
“I like the way she presents herself and I believe in what she is saying,” Hughes said, “It’s her honesty and the way she presents herself and I believe in her because of that.”
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