McCain rekindles magic, Hillary bumps Obama in Granite State
On Tuesday, the historic first in the nation Presidential Primary in New Hampshire saw record turnout and different results from last Thursday in Iowa. Arizona Senator John McCain resurrected his second Presidential campaign with a clear cut victory. McCain defeated former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney by 12,000 votes. Mike Huckabee, the G-O-P victor in Iowa, came in third place. McCain defeated George W. Bush in the Granite State by 18 percentage points in 2000.
The exit polls suggest that the senior Senator from Arizona handily defeated Romney among Independent voters, a voting bloc that makes up 45 percent of the electorate in New Hampshire. Mitt Romney had high hopes of taking Iowa and New Hampshire, but has to settle for two second-place finishes. Now the Republican race moves onto to Michigan and the Republican state primary on January 15th.
On the Democratic side, New York Senator Hillary Clinton, scored what many political pundits consider an upset of Illinois Senator Barack Obama. After Obama's resounding win in Iowa, a large majority of New Hampshire polls leading up to the voting, showed a clear shift, almost double digits in the direction of the Obama campaign. But, New Hampshire's independently leaning and unpredictable electorate delivered a blow to Obama's momentum. Clinton defied the preliminary polls and behind solid support from women, defeated Obama, by a narrow, but decisive 6,000 votes.
Much like her husband was characterized in 1992, Hillary has "comeback" in New Hampshire. Obama bested Clinton among Independents. But, unlike the Hawkeye State, where Obama carried the female vote, women voted overwhelmingly for Hillary in the Granite State by a margin of 47 % to 34 %.
The race for both the Democratic and Republican nominations is now completely up for grabs. It is early, but never the less, completely wide open on both sides of the political spectrum. The race will be decided on February 5th when Arizona and some 21 other states including California, New York, and Illinois will be taking part in the primary process.
Upcoming Primaries and Caucuses:
Michigan Republican Primary - January 15
Nevada Democratic Caucus - January 19
South Carolina Republican Primary - January 19
South Carolina Democratic Primary - January 26
Florida Primaries - January 29
last updated on 08.01.08 at 11:00 PM