Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has won the Democratic New Hampshire primary:

BREAKING: Sen. Bernie Sanders wins the New Hampshire Democratic Primary, @NBCNews projects. pic.twitter.com/6l7nVVlEMZ

— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 12, 2020

Sanders won with 26% of the vote with 93% reporting. The margin of victory was not great, but Sanders’ share of the vote was close to where he had been polling in the last week. By all rights, Sanders is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president. That is not entirely unexpected, but it is still quite remarkable. Thanks to his success in Iowa and his polling lead in New Hampshire, the senator has moved into the lead in national polling as well. In a reasonably competitive six-way race, he has roughly a quarter of the Democratic primary electorate in his corner right now. That is hardly a lock on winning, but he is in a better position than any of his rivals at the moment. For the time being, Sanders benefits from having at least four centrists fighting with each other over their wing of the party.

Buttigieg and Klobuchar rounded out the top three with decent showings. Warren fell short of where she had been polling, and her distant fourth place finish was a very disappointing setback for her campaign. Klobuchar got the result that Warren needed, and it seems unlikely that Klobuchar will be in a position to take advantage of this result. Warren isn’t likely to give up anytime soon, but getting less than 10% in a state next door to her own is a serious blow. Biden’s abysmal fifth place finish would be the end of most presidential campaigns, but Biden is determined to stick it out no matter how badly he is doing.

It is a testament to Sanders’ perseverance and campaign organization that he has led the field ever since the voting started. While there are many cable news pundits that have been desperate to minimize Sanders’ success, it is important to recognize that Sanders’ victories in 2020 are more significant than any that he had in 2016 because this time there is every reason to believe that he can go all the way to securing the nomination. The reluctance of so many Sanders detractors to acknowledge his victories isn’t really surprising, but it shows that they still have no idea how to respond to his campaign’s success except to ignore it and try to change the subject. Sanders’ victories in Iowa and New Hampshire have given him a good start in the race, and now it remains to be seen if he and his campaign can maintain their advantage over the rest of the field.