New Hampshire native reacts to Democratic primary

Photo credit: Julia Sanbe

Sen. Bernie Sanders narrowly defeated South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the New Hampshire primary, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vice President Joe Biden trailing behind.

University of Miami students waited for the results of the nation’s first primary with a mix of excitement and anxiety, while some feared that the primary results might be delayed similarly to the previous week’s Iowa caucuses. The race was particularly close, with Buttigieg following up his strong Iowa performance with a near win in New Hampshire.

UM’s New Hampshire natives voiced their excitement for this year’s primaries and commented on the race at large.

“The political issues that matter most to me right now are affordable/accessible healthcare and education, addressing the climate change issue, and minority rights.” said Juliette Van Heerden, a microbiology major at UM.

Although originally from New Hampshire, Juliette says she is registered to vote here in Florida and has a general idea of which candidate she is supporting.

“I like Biden a lot because of how much he cares about pushing scientific research,” Juliette said. “I like how he admits his wrongs of his past ideas and displays his willingness to change his view on things based on how the world around him changes.”

Juliette’s fellow New Hampshire locals did not share her sentiment, at least according to the votes cast in Tuesday’s primary. With 98% of precincts reporting, Biden has garnered 24,845 votes, or 8.4%. This is a far cry from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders reported 75,923, or 25.7% of the vote share.