Pete Buttigieg claimed second place while Amy Klobuchar powers her way to a surprising third off the back of her last debate

A little more than a week after the Iowa caucus descended into a chaotic mess that was unable to produce a clear winner, the contest in New Hampshire was also narrow but a little more definitive.

Q&A Why is New Hampshire important? Show Hide While Iowa traditionally holds the first caucuses in the presidential election, New Hampshire has held the first primary since 1920. The goal for presidential candidates is to win early-voting states and create name recognition and a sense of momentum, as well to pick up their first delegates, who will eventually choose the nominee in summer. Sometimes a clear favorite for the nomination emerges quickly, but the last two major Democratic primary contests, pitting Barack Obama against Hillary Clinton and then Bernie Sanders against Clinton, have lasted from the Iowa caucuses in January through to late spring.

As the votes were counted in the Democratic primary, winners and losers amongst the much winnowed field emerged as the candidates already headed off to the next contests in Nevada and South Carolina, where they will encounter far more diverse electorates.

WINNERS

Bernie Sanders

The Vermont democratic socialist senator should now be considered the frontrunner in the race after winning this contest. His supporters will cheer a remarkable resilience that has seen him ascend to the top of the contest. His detractors will point to worries over uniting the party and sign of a waning enthusiasm compared to 2016.

Amy Klobuchar

The Minnesota senator is the one true surprise of the night, powering her way into third place off the back of a strong last debate performance where she successfully made an emotional appeal to the voters – and took effective swipes at her centrist rivals, especially Pete Buttigieg.

Pete Buttigieg

The supporters of the former South Bend mayor might have hoped for more after a strong result in Iowa that allowed him to declare a victory – even as others declined to do so amid the chaos of the count. But a strong second in New Hampshire is still much to crow about as he heads off to political turf that might prove more challenging to a candidate with a clear problem attracting minority voters.

Donald Trump

He isn’t running in the Democratic race but Trump will probably relish the ongoing fight between the leftwing and centrists factions of the party – one that the New Hampshire results have done nothing to heal. Coverage of the election also dulled media attention to Trump’s apparently successful, and shocking, intervention in the sentencing of his old friend and ally Roger Stone.

LOSERS

Joe Biden

Joe Biden fled New Hampshire before the polls closed and now we know why. Crashing to a fifth-place finish, even behind a rapidly ailing Elizabeth Warren, is a hammer blow to a candidate whose core message is meant to be his electability and ability to win elections. He headed straight to South Carolina – skipping the next state of Nevada – but the doubts over his candidacy must be raging.

Elizabeth Warren

The Massachusetts senator with a progressive record expected more than fourth place from a neighboring New England state. But having disappointed twice in a row, and with a trajectory that appears headed downwards, the Warren campaign now looks seriously holed below the water line.

Andrew Yang

Goodbye to the Yang Gang. The tech entrepreneur who wants to give every American a monthly income certainly added to the conversation and won himself a small army of fanatic supporters. But it didn’t win him many votes when the actual contests began. He dropped out last night.