MANCHESTER, N.H., Feb. 9 (UPI) — Donald Trump and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won the first-in-the-nation primaries in New Hampshire Tuesday night.
Trump lead Republicans with 34 percent of the vote, with Ohio Gov. John Kasichcoming in second with 15 percent. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush tied for third place with 11 percent each, while Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., came in fourth with 9 percent.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie garnered 7 percent of the vote, coming in fifth place. HP CEO Carly Fiorina won 4 percent and Dr. Ben Carson won 2 percent. All the way at the bottom, barely registering a blip was former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore with less than a percent of the vote.
Among Democrats, Sanders beat out Clinton by 15 percent, winning 13 delegates to Clinton’s seven. The Washington Post reported Clinton conceded the state to Sanders shortly after polls closed.
RealClear Politics showed Trump polling on average well ahead of the rest of the Republican field at 31 percent going into the primary.
As for Sanders, he averaged at 54 percent, 13 points ahead of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
After beating the Vermont senator by an extremely narrow margin in Iowa last week, Clinton’s camp braced for a loss in New Hampshire. However, CNN reported that congressional Democrats are preparing to oppose Sanders in the coming weeks as the fight moves to South Carolina.
No other Republican candidate polled within 15 points of Trump. On average, Rubio polled at 14 percent. Despite his third place win in the Iowa caucuses, the Florida Senator took some hits in New Hampshire after getting pummeled on the debate stage last weekend.
After New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie knocked Rubio for delivering repetitive remarks, the senator’s events have been dogged by protesters dressed as robots holding signs with slogans like “Marco Roboto” and “Rubio Talking Points 3000.” Many of the so-called “Rubiobots” have been sent by progressive groups.
Tuesday morning, Rubio supporters and campaign staff were even involved in a physical altercation with the “Rubiobots.” A liberal group called Americans United for Change captured the scuffle on video and posted it to YouTube.
Kasich came close to tying Rubio with a polling average of 13 percent. Kasich, along with Sanders, won the primary contest in Dixville Notch, the first New Hamsphire town to go to the polls.
Cruz, who averaged at 11 percent, won the Iowa caucuses largely due to his aggressive campaign work with the state’s Evangelical voter base. However, where Iowa Republican voters are more than half Evangelical, exit polls showed they only comprised a quarter of Republican voters in this year’s primary.
Bush tied with Cruz in the Granite State, and may be gearing up for a comeback following a dismal showing in Iowa.
Christie is polling at 5 percent, on average, after snubbing Iowa on caucus night and honing in on New Hampshire voters. Bush and Kasich did the same.
Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina comes in at 4 percent — and after failing to make the cut for the last GOP debate Saturday, New Hampshire may be make-or-break territory for Fiorina — who did manage to win one delegate in Iowa.
Christie and Fiorina are not expected to make the cut for the next GOP debate this weekend. Much like the last ABC News debate, this Saturday’s CBS News debate will not feature an undercard debate.
