McCain Wins New Hampshire, Setting Back Romney Bid

[Ron Burgundy]

Bloomberg - Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Senator John McCain of Arizona won the New Hampshire primary, handing rival Mitt Romney his second defeat and further muddying the waters for the Republican presidential nomination.

McCain had 37 percent of the vote, while Romney trailed with 32 percent, with 77 percent of the precincts reporting, according to results posted by the Associated Press. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee came in third with 11 percent. New York Senator Hillary Clinton won the Democrats' primary over fellow Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.

The victory was crucial for McCain, 71, who banked on New Hampshire's independent voters to give his resurgent campaign a jolt of momentum heading into Michigan and other early primaries and caucuses. It's a setback for former Massachusetts Governor Romney, who lost to Huckabee in Iowa on Jan. 3 and had been counting on victories in Iowa and New Hampshire to gain front- runner status.

``It means new life'' for McCain, said Jennifer Duffy, the Senate editor for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington. ``It means that Republicans go into South Carolina and beyond without any front-runner. It's anybody's game.''

McCain, who trailed in polls last month, closed the gap on Romney in the final days before New Hampshire's first-in-the- nation primary. He was helped by the same independent voters who gave him an 18-point victory over George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential primary.

`Broken Politics'

``We sure showed 'em what a comeback looks like,'' McCain told cheering supporters in New Hampshire. ``Tonight we have taken a step, but only the first step, toward repairing the broken politics of the past and restoring the trust of the American people.''

Romney and Huckabee both gave concession speeches before McCain spoke. Huckabee hailed his third-place finish as evidence his Iowa victory last week was no fluke. ``Nobody thought we would even be one of the contenders in New Hampshire,'' he told supporters. ``Tonight you've given us so much more than we could have imagined just a few days or weeks ago.''

Romney, who won Wyoming's less-closely watched nominating contest on Jan. 5, joked tonight that he had taken a second ``silver'' medal and had one ``gold.''

``But tonight, congratulations go to John McCain,'' Romney said. ``He did a good job and out-competed us.''

`Tough Shape'

The defeat puts Romney, 60, ``in really, really tough shape,'' said Dean Spiliotes, an independent political analyst in New Hampshire. ``He has the money and the organization to stay in, but they've just beaten him so badly.''

Romney vowed to continue his battle for the nomination.

``I'll fight to be back here in November,'' he said. ``I will fight across this nation -- on to Michigan and South Carolina and Florida and Nevada.'' His father, George Romney, was governor of Michigan during the 1960s and made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968.

The Republican candidates will also have to take on former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, 63, who has largely saved his resources for the more than 20 other states that will hold Republican nominating contests in the next four weeks. That includes a Jan. 29 primary in Florida and contests in states such as New York, California and Illinois on Feb. 5.

`Wide-Open Race'

``From everything we can taste and smell right now, it's kind of being an even more wide-open race after tonight than before,'' Giuliani said in a Bloomberg Radio interview hours before the polls closed in New Hampshire. ``We've made gains all over the country.''

Giuliani came in fourth in the New Hampshire contest with 9 percent of the vote, according to the AP tally. Texas Representative Ron Paul took fifth with 8 percent.

McCain's campaign attempted to quickly capitalize on the win, emailing supporters just moments after his victory speech, urging them to help refill its depleted coffers. McCain is slated to fly to Michigan tomorrow for two quick airport rallies before heading to South Carolina which hosts a Jan. 19 primary.

Peter Spaulding, McCain's New Hampshire campaign chairman, said voters there ``have proven you can catch lightning in a bottle -- twice.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Kristin Jensen in Washington at kjensen@bloomberg.net ; Catherine Dodge in Washington at Cdodge1@bloomberg.net

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080109/pl_bloomberg/a26vky2oqbu [link]