Meanwhile, how freaked out is the Democratic Party establishment about the utter rejection that Hillary Clinton received last night? While Mrs Clinton remains the favourite in the national race for the Democratic nomination, the win by Mr Sanders could be a springboard into a competitive primary campaign.
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Stung from a second-place finish in Iowa last week, Trump is hoping to translate his commanding lead in the polls into a decisive win to prove his unorthodox campaign can translate large crowds at raucous rallies into votes.
Trump and Sanders entered Tuesday’s primaries as favorites of New Hampshire primary voters, but both needed a big win after their defeat in the Iowa caucuses eight days ago.
With Mr Trump’s victory, attention shifted to the runners-up in the race.
Vowing action on the economy, healthcare, trade and drug abuse, he added: “We are going to do something so good and so fast and so strong and the world is going to respect us again”. The Vermont senator was backed by 9 in 10 voters for whom honesty was important and 8 in 10 who wanted a candidate who “cares about people like me”. However, Tuesday’s vote did little to clarify who that candidate might be.
On Tuesday Rubio and Cruz finished well behind Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who scored a solid second-place finish.
“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.
Trump’s win comes a week after he placed second in the Iowa Republican caucuses. But he stumbled in a debate Saturday under intense pressure from Christie who cast the young senator as too inexperienced and too reliant on memorized talking points to become president. A candidate needs 1,237 delegates to win the nomination.
Sanders pulled from a broad coalition of New Hampshire voters, gathering a majority of votes from men, women, independents and voters under the age of 45, according to exit polls.
Donald Trumps greets voters at Webster Elementary School in Manchester, NH.
Almost every demographic group soundly rejected Clinton’s candidacy in favor of the 74-year-old self-described democratic-socialist barely known to most Americans.
Among Democrats, Sanders, who narrowly lost in Iowa, appeals to liberal Democrats who believe Obama hasn’t done enough to address the nation’s disparity in wealth. Asking his supporters to contribute to his campaign, Mr. Sanders said his increasing popularity was a message that “the government of our great country belongs to all of the people, and not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors”.
Clinton had for months been the front-runner nationally. “People have every right to be angry”.
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The primary process hasn’t yet become a full-on reality show, so no one is getting voted off, but some GOP candidates will soon decide that the constant public humiliation of running for president isn’t worth it. Ben Carson’s campaign has said he won’t drop out before SC, but Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie haven’t attracted much in the way of votes and might soon hang it up.
