Over half a million voters cast ballots on Tuesday, Feb. 9 in the New Hampshire primary, a large turnout across the small Northeastern state.
Businessman Donald Trump and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders had decisive victories for the nation’s first primary, paving the way to success for the two outsider party candidates in the election.
Trump benefitted from an unusually large field of candidates that split the vote among more traditional politicians, reported the New York Times–including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who came in second.
According to exit polling data, Trump ran strongest among Republican voters who were worried about immigration, the fate of the economy, and the threat of a terrorist attack in the US. It was also his first win among first-time voters in a Republican primary.
According to exit polls, 45 percent of Republican voters said they preferred a president with political experience, such as Kasich or Bush.
However, with more than 80 percent of New Hampshire precincts reporting, Trump received 35.3 percent of the overall vote, around 100,406 total, and 30-40 percent of the vote among many demographic groups. Trump also beat out four Republicans, who each received less than 20 percent of the overall vote.
On the Democratic side, Sanders beat out Hillary Clinton by over 55,000 votes, with 60.4 percent to Clinton’s 38 percent.
Sanders’ win proved a painful rejection of Clinton, who was known to reflect the views and have a good relationship with New Hampshire voters, particularly women. The state supported her husband in 1992, while Bill Clinton was on the path toward the Democratic nomination, and in the general elections of 1996.
However, Sanders’ rhetoric on a liberal political agenda and greater regulation on Wall Street drew larger support from voters, including young people and women.
“Together we have sent a message that will echo from Wall Street to Washington, from Maine to California,” Sanders said. “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.’”
It was a surprise to both parties, while many believed voters would stick to their roots embracing more experienced candidates like Clinton or one of the Republican lawmakers. However, disastrous debate performances have affected some campaigns, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who stood out during the Iowa caucuses but slid rapidly towards the fifth and last place in the primary as final results were tallied.
The opposition to Trump and Iowa Caucus winner Ted Cruz is divided, CNN said, and the GOP race remains crowded.
After doing poorly in the polls, both Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie also dropped out of the presidential race on Feb. 10.
The former HP executive promised to “continue to serve in order to restore citizen government to this great nation so that together we may fulfill our potential,” while New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came in sixth place, reflecting that he had not “an ounce of regret” for the experience in New Hampshire.
“I have won both elections that I was supposed to lose and I have lost elections that I was supposed to win,” Christie said on Tuesday night. “And what that means is you never know, and it’s both the magic and the mystery of politics that you never quite know when which is going to happen–even when you think you do.”
