Through the end of the Iowa caucuses (whenever that will be) and the Feb. 11 New Hampshire primary, I’ll offer my analysis while on the ground in those two states about who won the last 24 hours in the 2020 presidential contest. It’s crunch time, and every day in the primary race really matters. Many voters are finally tuning in, and history is filled with examples of how one late move made the difference. Some winners in this feature will be obvious, others will be contrarian, and sometimes the victor of the last 24 hours might not be a presidential candidate at all. — James Pindell


MANCHESTER, N.H. — Pete Buttigieg was never declared a winner. He wasn’t really given a moment in the national spotlight after the Iowa Caucuses. The rush of endorsements that usually pour in for the winner of Iowa hasn’t come his way.

Yet, in a slow roll, Buttigieg had a very good 24 hours.

On Wednesday morning, the conventional wisdom was that while Buttigieg should be very happy that he was leading the first returns out of Iowa, his lead that was not going to last.

Most believed that Bernie Sanders would make up the small Buttigieg lead as more returns came in, but that hasn’t fully happened. Sanders may well win, but there are now 97 percent of precincts in and Buttigieg is still clinging to the narrowest of leads.

Meanwhile, as the race moves to New Hampshire, Buttigieg is the only one really moving in the polls. The most recent Globe/WBZ-TV/Suffolk University tracking survey found Buttigieg went from tied in second place with Joe Biden to alone in second place and closing in on Sanders who leads with 25 percent to Buttigieg’s 19 percent. On Monday night Buttigieg was at 12 percent.


Sanders still leads, and Friday’s debate could change everything, but Buttigieg is the one to watch.

James Pindell can be reached at james.pindell@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jamespindell.