The bad news for Bush at the moment is that he’s in danger of being edged out for third place by Ted Cruz. Curiously, Cruz’s slight surge into third seems to be fueled by strong showings in Strafford County, especially around Rochester along the Maine border. Perhaps not coincidentally, these were also some of Rick Santorum’s best towns in the 2012 primary. A week ago, Bush backers would have been ecstatic about finishing ahead of Marco Rubio. But finishing behind John Kasich and Cruz could take a lot of the luster off.
Julia Azari
Sanders Stakes Out His Ground
Sanders’s speech emphasized the power of the people and the idea that when turnout is high, progressives win. He’s also made a point to talk about the need for eventual party unity and has moved on to attacking Republicans. But as this was going on, I got this tweet:
https://twitter.com/rumdoodle/status/697245413158465536
Now, New Hampshire and Iowa determine fewer than 100 delegates combined. It’s very early to talk about what the Democratic primary electorate wants. But Sanders and his supporters may walk a fine line here: If Clinton wins in a way that liberal activists see as illegitimate, that could be a real mess.
Jody Avirgan
The TV Dance From Inside The Hall
CONCORD, N.H. —
The press, and crowd, await John Kasich.
Jody Avirgan
It’s no secret that on election night the candidates do a bit of a scheduling dance to make sure their speeches end up on TV. But it’s still strange to watch the Kasich party come close to starting the speech and then back off several times. Lots of big cheers and chants that sort of peter out as it becomes clear that their candidate isn’t going to take the stage after all. I overheard one Kasich staffer say, “We thought we could squeeze in between Hillary and Bernie. Now we have to wait, and Trump may start soon.” A surprise second place may feel nice, but I guess it doesn’t buy you the cred to command your own network attention.
