Hit, but not sunk: Joe Biden started the season for the Democratic primaries badly by arriving fourth in Iowa on Monday according to partial results, but the former vice president hopes to quickly rebound thanks to his lead in the national polls.
“I’m not going to embellish the reality, we took a blow to the stomach in Iowa, the whole process took a blow,” admitted this veteran of American politics Wednesday in New Hampshire, the second state to vote next Tuesday.
A favourite since entering the race, he had the advantage of experience and, with his moderate image, seemed the only one who could bring the Democrats together to block the way for Donald Trump in search of a second term.
The slap is severe, barely mitigated by the chaos surrounding the election night Monday night, which adds to the recurring doubts about his state of health, he who is 77 years old.
With nearly three-quarters of the ballots counted on Wednesday, he is in the fourth position, far behind the young moderate Pete Buttigieg, the self-proclaimed “socialist” Senator Bernie Sanders, and the progressive senator Elizabeth Warren.
However, he is ahead of another moderate candidate, Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar.
Joe Biden has been crisscrossing the small state of the Midwest for several weeks, while his main potential opponents – Sanders, Warren and Klobuchar – were stranded in Washington because of lawsuits to remove Donald Trump.
But despite a substantial advance in national polls, his campaign seemed to run out of steam with declining financial contributions and a lack of enthusiasm among his troops.
“New campaign”
For Larry Sabato, professor of political science at the University of Virginia, it is too early to eliminate the former number two of Barack Obama from the race for the nomination.
“This is a whole new presidential campaign for him” after two previous adventures “where he failed,” he said with reference to 1988 and 2008 when, then a senator from Delaware, he had missed the Democratic nomination.
“He will also probably lose in New Hampshire” where Bernie Sanders leads the race far ahead of Joe Biden who is now followed by Pete Buttigieg, 38.
And the Nevada primary on February 22 could also rhyme with “dismada” despite the support of unions and white workers, who are part of its electoral base.
The union of electrical workers (IBEW), with its 775,000 members in North America, thus supported it on Wednesday.
“Unionists may vote for Biden, but Hispanics don’t seem too enthusiastic, they are more in favour of Bernie Sanders,” said Sabato.
Even though he admitted his underperformance in Iowa, Joe Biden told his supporters that in New Hampshire or elsewhere, the fight is far from over.
“Nothing is played out here, but I want you to propel me to make sure things are going well, okay?” “, He launched Wednesday at Concord.
“Because if I do well here, you will set the tone for the rest of the race,” he said.
For the former “VP”, the curve could reverse from the end of February. The primaries will be held in several southern states where he has broad support among the African-American community.
