John McCain won the Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire, and Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton won Tuesday night, according to an Associated Press report.
McCain, a senator, rode a wave of support from independent voters to defeat former Gov. Mitt Romney of the neighboring state of Massachusetts. The showing reprised his victory in the traditional first-in-the-nation primary in 2000, when he defeated George W. Bush.
The early front-runner in the Republican race, McCain's candidacy fell apart last year. "We showed the people of this country what a real comeback looks like," McCain said in an interview as he savored his triumph. "We're going to move on to Michigan and South Carolina and win the nomination."
It was a bitter blow for Romney, who spent millions of dollars of his own money in hopes of winning last week's Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, yet finished second in both.
Sen. Obama, who was widely expected to win the New Hampshire Democratic primary after a strong victory in Iowa, acknowledged the triumph of his main rival Clinton.
"I want to congratulate Sen. Clinton on a hard fought victory here in New Hampshire. She did an outstanding job -- give her a big round of applause," he said.
Source: Xinhua/Agencies
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