Familiarity Is Driving Bernie Sanders’ Strong Push in New Hampshire
The state made Bernie a contender in 2016. His campaign is betting it can deliver again in 2020.
The two canvassers huddled briefly on a tiny cement stoop. “Do you want to take this one, or should I?” a lawyer named Duncan Edgar asked his companion. “Yeah, sure,” David McDermott answered, “I got it.” He gave the door a sharp rap, shattering the daytime stillness in this neighborhood of vinyl-siding ranch homes in Portsmouth, on New Hampshire’s foggy sea coast.
The two made a funny pair. Edgar, 33, is slim, bespectacled, and fastidious. McDermott, 64, is white-haired, with a sturdy build and a gregarious manner. Edgar practices civil litigation; McDermott works three jobs, one of which is chauffeuring well-to-do clients around New England. They might not outwardly have much in common, but there they were, brought together on an overcast February day by a shared conviction: Bernie Sanders must be the Democratic nominee for president.
An older woman answered the door. “Hi ma’am,” McDermott began, “We’re out here with the Bernie Sanders campaign, just checking in to make sure we can count on you — ”
“Yes,” the woman cut in firmly. “I’m supporting Bernie. Thank you.”
