Sanders defeats Clinton, Trump wins in New Hampshire
Ohio Gov. Kasich surprises by coming in second, while Iowa winner Cruz comes in third, while Rubio trails in fifth; Clinton, who barely scraped by in Iowa, loses by significant margin.
NEW HAMPSHIRE - Bernie Sanders won a commanding victory over Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, and Donald Trump also scored a big win in a triumph of two candidates who have seized on Americans' anger at the Washington political establishment.
For Trump, the brash real estate magnate and television personality who has never held public office, the win was an important rebound after his loss to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in last week's Iowa caucuses. Trump has led national polls for months and the New Hampshire victory reinforces his position as front-runner, proving he can win votes, and giving credibility to his upstart populist candidacy.
"Wow, wow, wow, wow," Trump declared, savoring his victory at a campaign rally before promising swift action as president on the economy, trade, health care, drug abuse and more. "We are going to do something so good and so fast and so strong and the world is going to respect us again. Believe me."
Ohio Gov. John Kasich finished second after devoting almost all of his campaign resources to New Hampshire. Competing for third were Cruz, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who had dedicated a significant amount of time to New Hampshire, lagged behind in the vote count, casting doubt on the future of his campaign. He told supporters that instead of going to South Carolina, he'll head home to "take a deep breath" and take stock of his struggling presidential bid.
The day was also a blow for Rubio, who had appeared to be breaking away from the second-tier Republican pack after a stronger-than-expected third-place showing in Iowa. 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.
Among Democrats, Sanders, who narrowly lost in Iowa, had maintained a sizeable advantage over Clinton in New Hampshire for weeks. He appeals to liberal Democrats who believe Obama hasn't done enough to address the nation's disparity in wealth.
Sanders said at a victory party that his win sends a message "that the government of our great country belongs to all of the people and not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors" and their political committees.
Clinton echoed Sanders' calls for tackling income inequality, but cast herself as more prepared to make good on her policy pledges. "People have every right to be angry. But they're also hungry, they're hungry for solutions," she said.
Clinton's campaign argues that she will perform better as the race heads to more racially diverse states, including Nevada and South Carolina. Both New Hampshire and Iowa are overwhelmingly white states that are far less diverse than the nation as a whole.
There are only 23 delegates at stake in New Hampshire's Republican primary, and they are awarded proportionally, based on the statewide vote. A candidate needs 1,237 delegates to win the nomination
While Sanders' victory means he's assured of a majority of the state's pledged delegates, Clinton remains ahead in the overall delegate count due to support from superdelegates - the party officials who can support the candidate of their choice at the convention. Overall, Clinton has amassed at least 392 delegates and Sanders at least 42; the magic number to clinch the nomination is 2,382.
