POLITICS

Sanders cruises to Democrat NH win

Associated Press
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., celebrates his victory in the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday night in Manchester, N.H. Associated Press

MANCHESTER, N.H.  —  Democrat Bernie Sanders rode a wave of voter frustration with American politics to a commanding victoriy in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, adding crucial credibility to his upstart candidacy.

 Sanders swept majorities of men, women, independents and young people in his win over Hillary Clinton, but faces challenges in the more diverse states that come next on the primary calendar.

Sanders, at hisraucous rally, said his victory sent a message "that will echo from Wall Street to Washington, from Maine to California. And that is that the government of our great country belongs to all of the people and not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors and their super PACs."

The enthusiasm behind  Vermont Sen. Sanders, who says he is a democratic socialist, underscores the public's anger with the current political and economic system.

Clinton appeared to recognize that reality in her concession speech, echoing Sanders' calls for taking on Wall Street banks and tackling income inequality. But she cast herself as more prepared to make good on her pledges.

"People have every right to be angry. But they're also hungry, they're hungry for solutions," she said after congratulating Sanders on his win.

Sanders pulled from a broad coalition of New Hampshire voters, gathering a majority of votes from men, independents and voters under 45, as well as a slim majority of women. Hillary Clinton won the majority of those over 65 and those with incomes over $200,000 a year, according to the exit polls.

Clinton's campaign argues she will perform better as the race heads to more racially diverse states, including Nevada and South Carolina. Both New Hampshire and Iowa are overwhelmingly white states that are far less diverse than the nation as a whole.

As polls closed, her campaign manager Robby Mook blasted out a memo touting Clinton's strength with Hispanics and black voters and arguing that a Democrat cannot win the presidency without support from those constituencies.

The distinctions between what motived Sanders and Clinton voters were sharp. The Vermont senator was backed by 9 in 10 voters for whom honesty was important and 8 in 10 who wanted a candidate who "cares about people like me." Clinton, meanwhile, won support from nearly 90 percent of those who considered the "right" experience important in their decision and about 80 percent of those regarding electability as the most important factor.

NH Democratic Primary

Bernie Sanders 60%

Hillary Clinton  39%

Results unofficial

Percentage of districts reporting: 86%

Source: CNN