New Hampshire, Feb 11: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders defeated Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, while real-estate mogul Donald Trump prevailed over a crowded Republican field with Ohio Governor John Kasich finishing second.
With Tuesday’s results, voters in both parties sent a rebuke to establishment presidential candidates by embracing Trump and Sanders — a billionaire and a Democratic socialist — who both spoke to voter anger and anxiety about rising income inequality and a gridlocked Washington.
“Together we have sent the message that will echo from Wall Street to Washington, from Maine to California, and that is that the government of our great country belongs to all of the people and not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors and their super-PACs,” Sanders said in his victory speech in Concord on Tuesday night.
The biggest loser of the night was Clinton, the Democratic front-runner who won the state in 2008 only to suffer an embarrassing loss in a race that was called almost as soon as the polls closed at 8 p.m. Eastern. Her campaign manager, Robby Mook, issued a memo designed to tamp down any panic among supporters by asserting that she is still the favorite for the nomination.
Clinton congratulated Sanders on his victory in her concession speech in Hooksett and vowed to battle on, saying she knows how to get results that voters are demanding.
“Now we take this campaign to the entire country, and we’re going to fight for every vote in every state,’’ Clinton said. “We’re going to fight for real solutions and make a difference in people’s lives.”
Trump re-assumed his front-runner status in the Republican nominating contest after finishing second in the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1 to Texas Senator Ted Cruz, despite leading state and national polls for months.
“We learned a lot about ground games in one week, let me tell you that,” Trump said as he addressed a victory rally, a reference to criticism he lacked the sufficient organization to prevail in Iowa.
