With a third-place finish, Klobuchar bursts to the center of the Democratic presidential race

I think that sounds pretty good for a president.” Her challenge now is to keep that momentum building as the Democratic nominating contest moves to states where she has spent far less time campaigning — and where she will face higher-polling candidates with more money and larger campaign operations.Her next announced campaign stop is a telling one: a fundraiser in New York City on Wednesday night.Klobuchar’s staff is hopeful she will resonate in Nevada, noting the popularity of Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a moderate Democrat elected in 2016. Already, she is facing more scrutiny about her time as a prosecutor in Minnesota and her brash treatment of some staff members.Her rise comes as Biden has suffered back-to-back embarrassing finishes and as former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg has logged strong performances — including a second-place primary finish here — despite his lack of governing experience, something Klobuchar has repeatedly highlighted.From impeachment to Iowa: Inside Klobuchar’s cross-country campaignKlobuchar has long pitched herself as a pragmatic centrist who has “the receipts” to show that she can work with Republicans to get legislation passed. Her policies are not “pipe dreams,” she says, but rather ideas that could actually be passed and implemented.For months, Klobuchar has questioned the cost of policies proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — the primary winner — and Warren, especially their calls for Medicare-for-all and free public college tuition.Over the weekend, Klobuchar said she is “troubled” that Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, has a shot at becoming the nominee.It was a case that seemed to resonate — in the last few months, Klobuchar racked up endorsements from state lawmakers and newspapers. Her supporters sometimes stepped up to fill in where they saw gaps: One created homemade buttons, while another bought hundreds of small American flags to wave at rallies.Her audiences were filled with Democratic voters — not just from New Hampshire but also from Massachusetts and Maine, which have primaries on March 3 — who often said they were trying to decide between Klobuchar, Buttigieg, Warren or Biden.