The next primary races are in Nevada and SC later this month. And though tonight’s votes are still being counted, the early calls in Sanders favor suggest that it isn’t even close.
Advertisement
Establishment-minded Republicans had hoped that the state’s notoriously choosy voters would coalesce around one of their preferred candidates rather than affirming Trump, but no single challenger has emerged at the head of the pack. Those who said they’re angry were particularly likely to vote for Donald Trump.
In a state that values retail politics, both Clinton and Sanders spent time knocking on doors and greeting patrons at local coffee shops in the days leading up to the primary.
The GOP supports amnesty for illegal immigrants. About a quarter of those who oppose a ban voted for Kasich.
For some Republican leaders, Trump’s and Cruz’s back-to-back victories add urgency to the need to coalesce around a more mainstream candidate to challenge those two through the primaries.
Among Democrats, more than half who’ve voted before favored Sanders, as did 8 in 10 primary newcomers.
In Iowa, Rubio also won those voters who most valued a candidate who could win in November. Trump was the top choice of both voters who want a change candidate and those who want a candidate who speaks his or her mind.
The Sanders campaign invested heavily in the Granite State and aggressively advertised on televisions from the north to the suburban Boston enclaves in southern New Hampshire. Trump won this group with 32 percent of the vote, followed by Kasich with 18 percent of the vote. The age gap first seen in Iowa, where younger voters backed Sanders and older ones, Clinton, appeared to be replicated to some extent in New Hampshire. Nearly three quarters of Republicans (72 percent) identify as conservative this year, up from 53 percent in 2012.
Not many New Hampshire voters are identifying as Independent. Results show that moderates broke for Trump (30 percent) and Kaisch (27 percent).
Yet Sanders still hasn’t answered the biggest question of his campaign: Can he broaden his appeal beyond white Democrats? Marco Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush all locked in a tight race, along with Cruz.
Moments after the state was called for Sanders, the senator’s senior strategist, Tad Devine, told reporters at his victory party in Concord that they simply had a “better campaign”.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, coming off a strong victory in Iowa, has not polled as well in New Hampshire his rivals seeing that as an opportunity to try to cap his momentum in the second nomination contest.
Ohio Governor John Kasich, who staked the viability of his campaign on the New Hampshire outcome, was in second place with 16 percent, CNN said, based on an estimated 12 percent of returns. After substantial losses in the Iowa caucuses, Kentucky Sen. Among Republican primary voters, almost half said they’re dissatisfied and 4 in 10 they’re angry. In Iowa, the majority of those who sought an outsider supported Trump.
A longtime independent and “democratic socialist”, Sanders is calling for the Democratic Party to move to the left on economic and domestic policy issues – embracing single-payer health care, funding college tuition for all Americans, and hiking government spending on infrastructure and Social Security benefits.
Advertisement
What’s Next For The Losing GOP Candidates?
