Storied NH Town Has Picked Its Candidate

Dixville Notch gives 3 votes to Bloomberg, 1 each to Buttigieg and Sanders
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 11, 2020 12:32 AM CST
Updated Feb 11, 2020 6:53 AM CST
Bloomberg Wins in First NH Town to Vote
De Michael Bloomberg got three of the five votes cast during the midnight vote at The Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch, NH., early Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020, in the first 2020 Democratic presidential primary vote in the nation.   (Paul Hayes/Caledonian-Record via AP)

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has won the votes of a tiny New Hampshire community that barely hung onto its tradition of being among the first to cast ballots in the presidential primary. Dixville Notch's five residents cast their ballots just after the stroke of midnight Tuesday in the first 2020 Democratic presidential primary vote in the nation. Bloomberg received three write-in votes, one from a Republican and two from Democrats, the AP reports. The remaining votes went to Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders. Polls open later Tuesday in the rest of the state, some starting at 6am.The first-in-the-nation presidential primary follows last week's Iowa caucuses, which was plagued by technical issues that left both Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg claiming victory.

For years, Dixville Notch, located near the Canadian border, attracted many political candidates and a lot of media. This time around, only Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet visited Dixville Notch prior to the vote. The lack of attention by 2020 candidates underscores the precarious situation the community is in. Last year, the attorney general's office said Dixville Notch needed another official in order to hold a primary election after a person who previously held that role moved away. That left Dixville Notch with just four total residents, with five needed to hold the primary. Les Otten, a developer who is working to reopen the town's historic Balsams resort, moved to Dixville Notch last month to fill the vacancy. (Sanders got all four Democratic votes in the town last time around.)

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