Trump, Sanders ride U.S. anti-establishment wave to New Hampshire wins
Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders coasted to victory on a wave of voter anger in the New Hampshire presidential nominating contest, thrashing traditional U.S. politicians in a display of anti-establishment power.
Sweeping wins by Trump, a New York billionaire, and Sanders, a democratic socialist, on Tuesday testified to the sizable share of American voters upset at U.S. economic conditions and willing to send a shockwave to Washington in the Nov. 8 presidential election.
New Hampshire's verdict sets up a tough fight for Republicans in South Carolina's Feb. 20 primary and for Democrats there on Feb. 27. Some of the most monumental campaign battles in elections past have been fought in the state that holds the first primary elections of the American South.
Ohio Governor John Kasich won a spirited fight for second in the Republican field in New Hampshire, with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida fighting for third place. All four now are headed to South Carolina.
For Trump, New Hampshire showed he has staying power and can take a punch after losing on Feb. 1 to Cruz in the first nominating contest, the Iowa caucuses. His win showed pundits were wrong to think he would quickly self-destruct based on his penchant for insults and imprecise plans for the presidency.
Trump's odds for winning the White House, once seen as an extremely long shot, improved significantly after his victory in New Hampshire, online betting site Ladbrokes PLC
The real estate tycoon is now at 9/2, compared to 7/1 last week, meaning that his chances of victory in November are now 18 percent. Democrat Hillary Clinton still had best odds of becoming president at 50/50, Ladbrokes said.
Sanders said his victory over Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, showed "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."
Clinton now looks wounded. She trailed Sanders by 60 percent to 38 percent in New Hampshire with 92 percent of precincts reporting.
SANDERS AND SHARPTON
In an apparent attempt to chip away at Clinton's strong support among African-American voters, Sanders was to meet early on Wednesday with civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton at a restaurant in New York City's Harlem neighborhood.
Black voters will play a crucial role in the Democratic race in South Carolina where more than half of the Democratic primary voters in 2008 were African Americans.
Young voters in New Hampshire liked Sanders' populist proposals to break up big banks and have the government pay for free college tuition.
"People have every right to be angry but they're also hungry, they're hungry for solutions," Clinton, 68, said after congratulating the 74-year-old Sanders. "I will work harder than anyone to actually make the changes that make your lives better."
Clinton was headed to New York, headquarters for her campaign, to regroup with top aides and prepare for a Democratic debate on Thursday. Her campaign has denied reports it is considering a shakeup but acknowledged it would be natural to add members to their team as the campaign progresses.
Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said in a memo that the Democratic nomination would "very likely" be decided in March, with the support of black and Hispanic voters key to victory. In addition to South Carolina, party nominating contests are set for Nevada this month.
"It will be very difficult, if not impossible, for a Democrat to win the nomination without strong levels of support among African-American and Hispanic voters," Mook wrote.
Some 73 percent of American voters say they think the United States is on the wrong track and these disaffected people make up a majority of the support bases for Trump and Sanders, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
They are worried about the economy, terrorism and income inequality and distrust establishment politicians they perceive as being part of the problem.
SHADOW-BOXING TRUMP
Trump, 69, who has campaigned to deport illegal immigrants and temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States, was in first place with 35 percent of the vote on the Republican side based on 88 percent of returns.
At his victory rally, Trump congratulated other candidates in the race but promised to return to his pugnacious approach.
"Tomorrow: boom, boom," he said, shadow boxing while his supporters cheered.
The New Hampshire Republican race confirmed that Trump is being helped by the lack of a strong establishment contender against him.
Bush, the son and brother of former presidents, lived to fight another day after a poor performance in Iowa.
"While the reality TV star is doing well, it looks like you all have reset the race," Bush told supporters. "This campaign is not dead."
Bush told CNN on Wednesday his brother, former president George W. Bush, would campaign for him in South Carolina.
Rubio failed to dispatch Jeb Bush, seeing a drop in his support after a debate on Saturday in which he drew criticism for repeating rehearsed lines from his stump speech.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie fell behind the other Republicans in the voting and canceled plans to go to South Carolina, a sign he could drop out soon.
Clinton had for months been the front-runner nationally. But a Reuters/Ipsos poll done Feb. 2-5 showed Clinton and Sanders now in a dead heat.