Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders turned second-place finishes in the Iowa caucus into a resounding victory in the New Hampshire primary.
Trump more than doubled the vote tally of his nearest opponent, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, capturing more than 35 percent of the Republican vote. Kasich finished with 15 percent of the vote, followed by Iowa winner Ted Cruz with 11 percent.
Trump decided to use his victory to go after Sanders, while also alluding to the possibility of making America the greatest it has ever been.
“I heard parts of Bernie’s speech, he wants to give away our country, folks … we’re not going to let it happen,” Trump said. “I am going to be the greatest jobs President that God ever created.”
After finishing a distant eighth in Iowa, the New Hampshire results give a huge boost to the Kasich campaign, which has been distinct in his insistence to run a positive campaign.
“There’s magic in the air with this campaign, because we don’t see it as just another campaign,” Kasich said. “Maybe, just maybe, we’re turning the page on a dark part of American politics because tonight the light overcame the darkness of negative campaigning.”
With the victory, Trump inched slightly closer to the nomination, winning 10 of the 23 available delegates from New Hampshire. Combined with the results from Iowa, Trump has the most with 17, followed by Cruz with 11, Marco Rubio with ten, and Kasich in fourth with just five delegates.
The Republican field narrowed down to six remaining candidates after three different campaigns suspended operations following the results.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, business executive Carly Fiorina, and former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore all exited the race after failing to receive more than 10 percent of the vote in Iowa or New Hampshire.
After an extremely close vote in Iowa, Sanders easily separated himself from Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, as he received 60 percent of the vote to Clinton’s 38 percent. Sanders — the Senator from neighboring Vermont — picked up 15 of the 24 available delegates from the state, while Clinton collected the other nine in the two-person race.
Sanders took a positive approach to his victory speech, while at the same time reinforcing the central issues to his campaign of income inequality and campaign finance reform.
“Tonight — with what appears to be a record breaking voter turnout — because of a huge voter turnout, and I say huge, we won,” Sanders said. “The people of New Hampshire have sent a profound message to the political establishment, to the economic establishment, and by the way, to the media establishment.”
South Carolina and Nevada remain the only two states left to vote during the month of February, before 12 states vote on the March 1 “Super Tuesday.” The Republicans will hold a primary in South Carolina on Saturday before caucusing in Nevada on Tuesday. The Democrats will caucus in Nevada on Saturday before voting in the South Carolina primary on Feb. 27.