Concord, N.H. – Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders upended the political establishment Tuesday with decisive victories over mainstream adversaries. But both face challenges in continuing their momentum when the race shifts to the South, where the terrain is more hospitable to their top rivals.
Trump, who led the Granite State’s polls for weeks, topped a crowded field of Republican candidates with a victory cementing his frontrunner status ahead of the Feb. 20 GOP primary in South Carolina. The political newcomer's first election victory helped him bounce back from a humbling defeat last week in Iowa.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich won the battle for second place, which pitted him against Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and two other governors who fought for the mantle of who could best unite the GOP. The muddled field competing for the title, though, virtually guarantees the race will drag on for weeks or even months.
Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, has long held the upper hand over Hillary Clinton in the two-way Democratic contest for New Hampshire, enthralling crowds of younger voters with his embrace of liberal policy platforms. Clinton tried to cut into double-digit poll deficits by painting him as an idealist who risks undoing hallmark Democratic gains.
The state was a must-win for Trump and Sanders as the race enters a new phase in the more diverse and populous South. The heavily-black electorate in South Carolina is a stark contrast to the overwhelmingly white voter base that candidates confronted in New Hampshire and Iowa.
Both the candidates rode a populist wave of voter disgust with the establishment in Washington by promising to smash the status quo. And their victories were a repudiation of party leaders who have failed at every turn to thwart their campaigns.
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