Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders scored decisive victories in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary – as Ohio Gov. John Kasich surged into a second-place finish and Florida Sen. The true test will come in states that are demographically more diverse than New Hampshire or Iowa, like the upcoming primary in SC. That’s got to be troubling to Clinton, who would be the first female president. Asked which of the two Democratic candidates had those qualities, half said only Sanders had them, and almost all of those people voted for him. Marco Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush were clustered below Trump.
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Results in both races were surprising.
About three-quarters of GOP voters say they’re very anxious about the economy, while 6 in 10 say they’re very anxious about terrorism. A whopping 90 percent said they were angry about the state of the federal government. And for many, the dissatisfaction extends to the GOP itself.
The political establishment: Take note.
A source within the Sanders campaign told CNN’s Mark Preston that his victory meant that the Vermont senator’s operation would transition into a national effort targeting multiple states beyond the next two contests in SC and Nevada. Sanders passed Clinton in the HuffPost Pollster average in late August, and although the race remained fairly close through the end of the year, Sanders never lost his lead. But women over 65 selected Clinton by almost a 2-1 margin. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., reacts to the cheering crowd at his primary night rally Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016, in Manchester, N.H.
“A Democrat who is unable to inspire strong levels of support in minority communities will have no credible path to winning the presidency in the general election”, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said in a memo released as the polls closed. A major problem is her lack of support by young voters.
“If he can do it for OH he can probably do it for the rest of America”, she said.
Almost half of voters in the Republican primary made up their mind in the past week, according to early exit polls conducted by Edison Research for the Associated Press and the television networks. Kasich, while getting a big boost out of Tuesday’s contest, will look to demonstrate he can play beyond New Hampshire.
Among Democrats, 71 percent said in a CBS exit poll that positions on issues were more important than leadership qualities.
“I felt like he was the most honest”, said Nicole Reitano, a 24-year-old from Nashua, New Hampshire, who voted for Sanders. On the Democratic side, the race was murkier. In part it’s because the format of a primary is more stable than the caucus.
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)_Voters in New Hampshire make their choice for the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.
