Hillary Clinton pulled off a stunning upset in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, preventing Barack Obama from running away with the Democratic nomination.
Defying pundits and pollsters who had projected an Obama win by as much as a dozen points, Clinton rallied to defeat the man who had vanquished her in Iowa just five days earlier.
“Over the past week I listened to you and in the process I found my own voice,” she said in her victory speech.
Clinton rode to victory on the strength of a huge edge among women voters. Analysts said the turning point may have occurred Monday after Clinton’s voice broke when a woman in a Portsmouth restaurant asked her about the difficulties of campaigning.
The rare show of emotion created a sympathetic contrast with her image as a cool political professional.
Clinton’s showing immediately rejuvenated her campaign, which had been struggling for weeks and seemed in a freefall since her third-place finish in Iowa, behind Obama and John Edwards. She now has 10 days to prepare for a win in Nevada and then another week to gird for South Carolina, where half the Democratic electorate is black.
New Hampshire thoroughly scrambled the presidential race, leaving no true frontrunner in either party.
On the Democratic side, the contest is now a virtual toss-up between Clinton and Obama, with Edwards hanging around to see if one of them stumbles.
On the Republican side, John McCain’s victory over Mitt Romney left the race wide open, with no fewer than five candidates in double digits in national polls.
Competing with Romney and McCain are Mike Huckabee, who won Iowa; Fred Thompson, who hopes to win South Carolina on Jan. 19; and Rudy Giuliani, who is banking on winning Florida at the end of the month and then Super Tuesday contests on Feb. 5.
With 76 percent of Republican precincts reporting late Tuesday, McCain was leading Romney, 37 to 32 percent.
With 79 percent of Democratic precincts reporting, Clinton was ahead of Obama, 39 to 36 percent.
Exit polling by Fox News showed Clinton regaining the women’s vote, which she had lost to Obama in Iowa, by a margin of 47 percent to 34 percent. Among single women, Clinton had a 17-point advantage over Obama. Clinton also beatObama among low income voters, 47 to 32 percent.
But among voters under 30, Obama won by a margin of 51 to 28 percent. He also won independent voters, 41 to 34 percent, and voters who wanted change, 55 to 29 percent.
McCain’s victory over Romney was significant because Romney had long been considered the favorite in New Hampshire.
“We sure showed ‘em what a comeback looks like,” McCain said in his victory speech, as supporters chanted, “Mac is back!”
Romney congratulated McCain and resolved to beat him in Michigan, Romney’s home state, which was once governed by his father, George Romney.
“I’d rather have a gold but I got another silver,” Romney said in conceding New Hampshire to McCain.
