Proving pundits and polls wrong, Clinton comes back to win New Hampshire and McCain repeats his victory in 2000.
This is my first election year since leaving the Hill. Maybe it was the struggle of being a Democrat in a very Republican environment each day, or perhaps my brain was beginning to enjoy its respite from the constant partisan bickering - but until last night, I found myself quite apathetic towards the 2008 election. I’m not sure why- this is certainly an important one.
I didn’t know I cared until I (again) found myself sitting at home, screaming at the TV as poll returns updated and pundits droned on about their significance. I’m not going to blog about how I feel about the candidates just yet- I can’t believe I’m still in the “undecided” camp. What’s important is the passion for politics is back- and it’s about time!
It seems I am not alone in my excitement- energized by the competitive races in both parties, voters set a record for turnout in New Hampshire's primary yesterday. State officials predicted that when all ballots were counted, the total would surpass 500,000. When it was all over, here’s how the voters of New Hampshire felt:
Democrats
Clinton
110,550
39%
Obama
102,883
37%
Edwards
47,803
17%
Richardson
12,987
5%
Kucinich
3,845
1%
Biden
616
0%
Gravel
397
0%
Dodd
195
0%
Republicans
McCain
86,802
37%
37%
Romney
86,802
32%
Huckabee
73,806
11%
Giuliani
20,054
9%
Paul
17,831
8%
Thompson
2,808
1%
Hunter
1,195
0%
More than a third of those who cast ballots in the Republican primary were independents- the unaffiliated voters, who are eligible to vote in either primary, accounted for more than four out of 10 voters in the Democratic primary.
USA Today
It seems that more voters viewed her as qualified to be commander in chief than Obama, suggesting that Clinton's argument that she was more experienced to lead might have done the trick. Advisers "say that it was a softer Hillary Clinton that led to her surprising first-place victory" ("Washington Wire"). Concord Monitor: "Turnout helped Clinton." New York Times: Women won it for HRC, as her pollster, Mark Penn, "had long predicted."
Meanwhile, Barack Obama rallied a dispirited crowd in Nashua after taking a close second. Supporters stood quietly as early reports showed a much tighter race between Obama and Clinton than many anticipated.
Union Leader
While Edwards tried to put a positive spin on his third-place finish, it appears that his failure to stay close Clinton and Obama have raised doubts about whether his campaign can mount a credible challenge going into the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday caucuses and primaries
Los Angeles Times
John McCain claimed his second New Hampshire primary victory last night, defying convention and denying Mitt Romney a “comeback in his back yard”
New Hampshire Union Leader
Romney, unable to refocus his message and prove his authenticity to New Hampshire's fiercely independent and fiscally conservative voters suffered a second defeat in six days, leaving a mess of his presidential campaign strategy
Boston Globe
Romney said that he plans to stay in the race at least through 2/5. But according to the New York Post “last night's decision was the early but clear death knell” for Romney
Casting himself as an 'unknown Southern boy, Mike Huckabee said that his third-place finish in the New Hampshire primary was good enough to sustain his Iowa-propelled candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination. He pledged to forge ahead in hopes of doing better in coming contests.
AP
If her advantage among Democrats holds true in the flurry of primaries set for Feb. 5 -- when core Democrats are expected to be more dominant -- Clinton could regain the traction that seemed lost when last week's defeat in Iowa ended her yearlong reign as the Democratic front-runner
Los Angeles Times
