Donald Trump won the Republican primary in New Hampshire while Bernie Sanders defeated Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side, indicating massive public support for the unconventional politics that they both represent.
While Mr. Sanders had been an independent who caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate and registered himself as a Democrat only in 2015, Mr. Trump has never contested for any political office as a Republican. And yet, both “outsiders” have won in the New Hampshire primaries handily.
New Hampshire is almost entirely white, but with voters of their respective parties finding them both more electable than the rest in several national polls, a Sanders vs. Trump face-off in November is no longer improbable.
Mr. Sanders’s victory speech aimed more at the general election than the boisterous crowd that spilled out into the snowy night. He congratulated Ms. Clinton on her robust campaign and did not personally attack her. Instead, he focussed on the need for uniting the “progressives and the Democrats” to ensure that the “Republican right” does not occupy the White House. Mr. Sanders said his increasing popularity was a message that “the government of our great country belongs to all of the people, and not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors.”
Addressing two main criticisms against him, Mr. Sanders said he would galvanise the party base better than Ms. Clinton and on foreign policy, recalled his vote against the Iraq invasion in 2002 as proof of his better judgment.
While the scramble for the slot of the ‘most suitable challenger to Mr. Trump’ continues to bruise the rest in the GOP, Mr. Trump has established his dominance. Ted Cruz, who stood ahead of Mr. Trump in Iowa on the February 1 caucuses, slid to the third position. Ohio Governor John Kasich finished second. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, considered a potential challenger to Mr. Trump after his strong third place finish in Iowa, collapsed after his disastrous debate performance in New Hampshire.
Hillary's might fails to stall Bernie's momentum
Hillary Clinton’s financial and organisational might appears inadequate to stall her Democratic Party rival Bernie Sanders. With her husband Bill Clinton by her side, Ms. Clinton conceded defeat and said she agreed with Mr. Sanders on most things, particularly the campaign finance system.
The differentiation that she made from Mr. Sanders was that she was better at getting things done. Going on, she has her task cut out. “I know I have some work to do, particularly with young people… Now we take this campaign to the entire country. We’re going to fight for every vote in every state.” Polls show Mr. Sanders leads Ms. Clinton by a huge margin among younger voters, including women.
Positive campaign
The primary also saw the rise of Ohio Governor John Kasich, who finished second after Donald Trump. “Maybe, just may be, we are turning the page on a dark part of American politics because tonight the light overcame the darkness of American campaigning,” Mr. Kasich, who has been running a positive campaign of hope rather than anger, said in a jubilant speech after the results.
But Mr. Kasich has a long way to go before he could challenge Mr. Trump as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the best-funded candidate, has no plans to quit the race. “This campaign is not dead. We’re going on to South Carolina (the next primary state),” Mr. Bush said. Altogether, the commotion in the Republican Party continues after the first primary, ruling out any immediate threat to Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump, a billionaire and Mr. Sanders, the poorest candidate in the fray, said strikingly similar things in their victory speeches about the American campaign finance system that funnels huge sums of money from corporations into politics, in exchange for policy favours.
“These are special interests groups that don’t care for the country,” said Mr. Trump. “We will change this corrupt system of campaign finance,” said Mr. Sanders. While Mr. Trump underscored the point that his campaign was self-financed, Mr. Sanders said his campaign was financed by 3.5 million contributions, each worth an average of $27.
But these similarities aside, Mr. Sanders and Mr. Trump are hardly birds of the same feather. While Mr. Sanders spoke about a future for America where migrants, homosexuals and blacks feel belonged and women will have equal pay, Mr. Trump focused on “beating China, Japan and Mexico.”
“I will be the greatest jobs President that God ever created. Remember that,” Mr. Trump said, adding that Mr. Sanders was planning to “give away America”, referring to the string of welfare measures that he promises.
