Clinton and McCain lead in New Hampshire

Hillary Clinton and John McCain are both in leading position in the New Hampshire primary held on January 8, 2008. This was an unexpected upset in the positions of the Iowa winners.

Senator Clinton won the New Hampshire's Democratic primary, and re-established her position as a strong contender in the race to the White House. She defeated Barack Obama, who leading after his victory in the Iowa Caucuses.
The New York senator acknowledged the cheering presence of her fans by saying, "I felt like we all spoke from our hearts and I am so gratified that you responded," adding, "Now together, let's give America the kind of comeback that New Hampshire has just given me."

Clinton has now moved up from her third place in Iowa to the current lead position. However, this could be indicative of the close battle between that is expected to be fought between Obama and Clinton—the former first lady may still has a tough struggle ahead of her. Following his defeat, Obama assured his supporters that he would fight on. "I am still fired up add ready to go," he said.

According to polling place interviews, Clinton got many female votes in New Hampshire that were denied to her earlier. Obama on the other hand lost out to lowered presence of younger voters, in comparison with Iowa. Meanwhile, the third contender in New Hampshire, Edwards, said he had no plans to drop out from the campaign.

Amongst Republicans too, Senator John McCain surged past his Republican rivals to gain the leading position for presidential nomination.
"We showed this country what a real comeback looks like," a cheery McCain said in an interview. "We're going to move on to Michigan and South Carolina and win the nomination."

Speaking to supporters after his win, the Arizona senator said, "We have taken a step, but only a first step toward repairing the broken politics of the past and restoring the trust of the American people in their government".

McCain defeated both Mike Huckabee, the Republican winner, and Mitt Romney, who came second, in the Iowa caucuses. While Romney retained his second position, Huckabee had to settle in third place.

Romney, who invested millions in his campaign, said that he was ready for the Michigan primary. "I don't care who gets the credit, Republican or Democrat. I've got no scores to settle." Both McCain and Romney are now getting ready for Michigan. Both candidates have been appearing on Television. Huckabee, too, is expected to visit the state.

Preliminary results of a voter survey revealed that independent votes in the New Hampshire primary favored the Democrats more than the Republicans.

From Democrats, about a third each said that economy and Iraq were the top issues facing the country; these were followed by health care. Voters favoring the economy were split between Obama and Clinton, while Obama stood at an advantage with those who stood for Iraq and healthcare.

Republicans were divided evenly between naming the economy, Iraq, illegal immigration and terrorism as the top issues in the country. Romney enjoyed a good lead amongst those for immigration, but McCain was foremost on the other issues.

Half the Republicans, who backed Romney, stood for deportation of illegal immigrant, while those favoring citizenship for aliens backed McCain. Those favoring temporary worker status were divided between the candidates.