2020 New Hampshire Democratic primary

The 2020 New Hampshire Democratic primary is the second contest in the Democratic Party in the process of nominating a Presidential candidate for the 2020 general election, and the first actual primary election (as opposed to the Iowa caucuses of the previous week). It will take place on Tuesday, February 11, with 24 state delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention up for grabs.

Procedure

The New Hampshire primary is a "semi-closed" primary, in that both registered Democrats and undeclared or "independent" voters can cast a ballot, but not those voters who are registered as Republicans or members of another party. The state has relatively lax requirements for a candidate to appear on the ballot--only the payment of a $1,000 fee is required--hence, a total of 33 candidates will officially take part in the primary.

On the day of the election, polls will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST, although only the thirteen designated cities in the state will be allowed to remain open until 8:00 p.m.; in all other localities, polls close at 7:00 p.m. New Hampshire will be represented by a total of 33 delegates at the DNC in July, of which nine are unpledged to any candidate and will include the state's four representatives in Congress and five DNC members. The remaining 24 will be pledged to the candidates on a proportional basis in accordance with the results of the election. These 24 delegates are further subdivided into three equal groups: eight for each of the state's two congressional districts (16 total), and eight for the state at large. Delegate pledging is determined according to the primary vote statewide as well as in each district.

As is true in all Democratic presidential primaries, a candidate must receive at least 15% of the vote on either the district or state level to be awarded any delegates.

Polling

Almost without exception, Vermont senator and avowed socialist Bernie Sanders has led in the polls since mid-January, except for one showing him in a tie with former Vice-President Joe Biden, one showing a tie with Pete Buttigieg, and one giving the lead to Buttigieg alone. The most recent poll, from Emerson College (February 7-8), showed Sanders in the lead with 30%, followed by Buttigieg at 20%, Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar at 13%, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren at 12%, Biden at 11%, and all others at less than 5% each.

The most recent poll aggregators have suggested a lead for Sanders, with 26-27%, followed closely by Buttigieg, Warren, and Biden.

Poll aggregator	Polling date	Bernie Sanders	Pete Buttigieg	Elizabeth Warren	Joe Biden	Amy Klobuchar	Tulsi Gabbard	Andrew Yang	Tom Steyer	Other	Undecided
270 to Win	February 4-8, 2020	27.2%	21.8%	13.0%	11.6%	9.2%	3.0%	3.2%	2.2%	2.1%	6.7%
RealClear Politics	February 3-8, 2020	26.7%	21.5%	13.0%	12.5%	9.2%	3.2%	3.3%	2.3%	0.5%	7.8%
FiveThirtyEight	to February 8, 2020	26.3%	20.7%	12.8%	12.8%	8.8%	3.3%	2.8%	2.7%	3.4%	6.4%
Average	--	26.7%	21.3%	12.9%	12.3%	9.1%	3.2%	3.1%	2.4%	2.0%	7.0%

Forums and Debates

Eight presidential debates among the leading candidates have been held, the most recent on February 7. Some of the lesser-known candidates have taken part in a couple of separate forums, including one in Manchester on January 8.