Leslie Marshall: 10 takeaways from the New Hampshire Democratic primary

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.The endorsement of the three progressive freshmen congresswomen gave Sanders an important boost that contributed to his New Hampshire victory.FOUR: The Democratic Party is dividedAmong the top five candidates in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, Sanders and Warren competed in the progressive lane, together getting just over 35 percent of the vote.Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Biden competed for the more moderate vote, and together captured almost 53 percent of the vote.The remaining vote was split between candidates in the back of the pack.Bloomberg – spending record amounts of his multibillion-dollar fortune on his campaign – wasn’t on the ballot in Iowa and New Hampshire but is campaigning and advertising heavily in Super Tuesday states. So while Sanders won slightly more popular votes, the contest was a draw between him and Buttigieg in the delegate count.EIGHT: There was no surge in voter turnout  Polling showed that New Hampshire Democratic voters are angry and want the Democratic Party to nominate a candidate who can defeat President Trump in November.But in Iowa and New Hampshire we didn’t see the record turnout for the Democratic caucuses and primaries that some had forecast.Democrats will need a strong turnout of anti-Trump voters to have a chance of defeating him in the general election.NINE: Candidate debates matterWith the exception of Bloomberg, who hasn’t yet qualified for a presidential candidate debate and wasn’t on the ballot in Iowa and New Hampshire, candidates kept of the debate stage have fared poorly and many dropped out before voting in nominating contests began.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR OPINION NEWSLETTERThe televised debates give the candidates valuable exposure and boost their status as serious contenders.Klobuchar had a breakout performance at the Democratic debate last week and that seems to have been a big factor that helped her vault past Biden and Warren in the New Hampshire primary.TEN: Health care wins againHealth care is a winning issue for Democrats.