Notable Quotes of the Day

“It would surprise me if an underdog won. At this point, it would be near-impossible for someone to beat Biden, Warren, Buttigieg and Sanders, given their campaign and field operation. The other surprising thing could be the number of voters who are unaffiliated with a party who take Democratic ballots in the open primary. That will go up significantly, and if not, that would be very surprising.”

– Melanie Levesque, New Hampshire state senator

“At this point in 2016, Sanders was at 50 percent in the polls. He ended up winning with about 61 percent. Now he’s in the mid-20s. That’s a pretty significant loss of support, yet the media seems to think he is doing well. The media is also missing the potential that there may be no clear winner here. Any candidate who finishes with more than 15 percent of the vote picks up delegates under the party rules. Let’s say there are four people who win delegates, then we’re on to Nevada and South Carolina!”

– Kathy Sullivan, former New Hampshire Democratic Party chairwoman

Democrats

• Michael Bennet campaigned in New Hampshire on Sunday with stops in Manchester and Bedford.

• Rep. Colin Allred (Texas), who previously backed Julián Castro, endorsed Joe Biden on Monday.

• Michael Bloomberg wrote an op-ed for CNN on the primary calendar, critiquing Iowa’s and New Hampshire’s status as the first states to vote.

• Rep. Dave Loebsack (Iowa) endorsed Pete Buttigieg on Sunday.

• John Delaney continues to campaign in Iowa with stops in Griswold and Cumberland on Monday.

• Tulsi Gabbard will campaign in South Carolina on Monday with a stop in Lexington.

• Amy Klobuchar launched a six-figure ad campaign in Iowa for three versions of a clip called “People.” Two ads feature state Sen. Liz Mathis and state Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines.

• Deval Patrick raised $2.2 million in the last six weeks of the fourth quarter of 2019. 

• SEA/SEIU Local 1984 in New Hampshire endorsed Bernie Sanders, splitting from its national affiliate which has remained neutral in the primary. 

• With 82 paid staffers, Tom Steyer has the largest staff in South Carolina, according to a survey by The Post and Courier. Sanders and Buttigieg followed with 72 and 50 staffers, respectively.

• Elizabeth Warren discussed defense spending and military issues in an interview with Task and Purpose.

• Marianne Williamson ended her presidential campaign on Friday. “The primaries might be tightly contested among the top contenders, and I don’t want to get in the way of a progressive candidate winning any of them,” she said in a statement. 

• Andrew Yang is holding town halls in Iowa on Monday and Tuesday. Stops include Newton, Des Moines, and Ames.

Republicans

• Donald Trump discussed the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and impeachment in an interview on Fox News on Friday. McClatchy DC profiled the Trump campaign’s microtargeting of undecided women voters.

• Bill Weld will speak at an economic forum sponsored by the Community College System of New Hampshire on Tuesday. 

Flashback: January 13, 2016

As part of a $4.6 million ad buy, Jeb Bush released an ad focused on drug policy and his daughter’s experience with addiction.