Republican Donald Trump and Democrat
Bernie Sanders have shaken up the US presidential race with decisive
victories in the New Hampshire primary.
Billionaire Mr Trump is likely to get more than twice the number of votes of the next Republican candidate.
Senator
Bernie Sanders, who beat Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by a huge
margin, said his victory showed people wanted "real change".
Both candidates are riding on a wave of discontent with mainstream politics.
Ohio
Governor John Kasich came second in the Republican vote, with former
Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Florida Senator
Marco Rubio all vying for third place.
New Hampshire is the
second state to choose delegates in the long nomination battle following
last week's Iowa caucuses, which were won by Mr Cruz for the
Republicans and Mrs Clinton for the Democrats.
The result gives momentum to the winners ahead of the next contests in South Carolina and Nevada.
Counting the votes
Mr Trump's lead in New Hampshire is the first time the New York
businessman - who has never held elected office - has translated his
widespread support in opinion polls into a victory at the polls.
In
his victory speech, the real estate mogul congratulated Democratic
winner Mr Sanders but sideswiped that "he wants to give away our
country, folks!"
Mr Trump, 69, has pledged
to deport millions of migrants who are living in the US illegally;
build a wall along the border with Mexico; and impose a temporary ban on
all Muslims entering the country.
With more than 80% of the votes counted, Senator Sanders has a lead
of more than 20 percentage points over Mrs Clinton in the two-horse race
for the Democratic nomination. He had topped polls in New Hampshire in
recent months, but it is still a significant victory for the
self-described Democratic socialist candidate.
"What the people
here have said is that given the enormous crises facing our country, it
is just too late for the same old, same old establishment politics and
establishment economics," Mr Sanders said in speech to his supporters
late on Tuesday.
The 74-year-old has vowed to eradicate income inequality, provide free university education and break up big banks.
Mrs
Clinton congratulated Mr Sanders, but said in a speech she would
continue to fight for every vote in the campaign. Despite the setback,
she still remains the frontrunner for the nomination.
More from the Republican candidates:
- Ohio Governor John Kasich, who' performed strongly in New Hampshire, says he wants to lead America and "leave no-one behind"
- Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who came a close third in Iowa, says he is "disappointed" with his New Hampshire finish and apologised to his supporters on Twitter
- New Jersey Governor Chris Christie delivered a sombre speech, saying he would head home before deciding whether to proceed on to South Carolina or not
- Jeb Bush, once considered the Republican frontrunner, tells a crowd of supporters "we're going to South Carolina!"
Analysis: Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America reporter in New Hampshire
Donald
Trump is back, and Bernie Sanders is booming. That's the clear takeaway
from a New Hampshire primary night that ended with little drama at the
top. Both the New York billionaire and the Democrat who derides the
billionaire class appear posed to confirm their consistently large
opinion poll leads here with double-digit wins.
For the last few
weeks the drama on the Republican side has been the identity of the
candidate who will finish second - and perhaps become the establishment
candidate to take on Mr Trump and Iowa caucuses winner Ted Cruz.
For
a while it looked like that man would be Florida Senator Marco Rubio,
but he seems destined for a middle-of-the-pack finish after a flop in
Saturday's debate. Instead it could be John Kasich. But the Ohio
governor has little in the way of campaign infrastructure set up in the
southern states that vote next in the primary process.
Tuesday's
results are likely to lend little clarity to the question of who gets
the backing of mainstream Republicans. That's good news for Mr Cruz and
Mr Trump, who will benefit from a fractured establishment field for at
least a while longer.
Mrs
Clinton's campaign manager, Robby Mook, said in a memo that they
expected the race for the Democratic nomination "very likely" to be
decided in March.
The former secretary of state acknowledged
before the polls that Mr Sanders had a natural advantage in New
Hampshire because he represents the neighbouring state of Vermont as
senator.
Mrs Clinton, who has more support from the Democratic establishment, narrowly won in Iowa.
Most
polls in New Hampshire closed at 19:00 local time (midnight GMT), with
state officials forecasting a historic turnout in the vote.
What are primaries and caucuses?
They are the first contests in the US presidential race in which states decide who becomes each party's official candidate- Caucuses are a series of private meetings in which voters express support for candidates with a show of hands. Usually only registered voters, affiliated with a specific party, can take part
- Primaries are run by state governments and voting is done in a secret ballot
- Each primary or caucus earns delegates for the winning candidates who then vote for them at party conventions in July in which the final candidates are formally confirmed
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