UPDATED: Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016 at 11:31 p.m.

Both business mogul Donald Trump and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders took home big victories in New Hampshire on Tuesday.

Media outlets projected both as winners in the primary race shortly after the polls closed in the state at about 8 p.m. EST.

Both Trump and Sanders are considered “outsider” candidates in the race, and won in part, according to The Washington Post, because they tapped into anger at each of their party’s establishment.

Exit polls reported by CNN showed Trump with strong support — and 42 percent of the vote — among Republican primary voters.

Exit polls also showed Sanders winning over young voters by a huge margin — 85 percent — according to CNN. The only demographic Hilary Clinton won, according to exit polls from CNN, was voters earning more than $200,000 per year.

Trump reiterated his usual campaign points, such as building a wall on the U.S./Mexico border, in his victory speech. Another Trump proposal is to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. The proposal is supported by 66 percent of GOP primary voters in New Hampshire, according to an NBC exit poll.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich came in second on the Republican side after coming in seventh place in the Iowa caucuses eight days ago.

“Maybe we are turning the page on the dark side of American politics because tonight, the light overcame the darkness,” he said.

After Sanders was declared the winner, Clinton immediately conceded, and her campaign circulated a memo that maintained confidence in a Clinton nomination, according to The Hill.

“The nomination will very likely be won in March, not February, and we believe that Hillary Clinton is well positioned to build a strong — potentially insurmountable — delegate lead next month,” the memo said.

In Sanders’ response after his win, he touted his average campaign donation amount — $27 — and the 3.7 million individual donations his campaign has received. This has become a rallying point for Sanders, who has railed against the 1 percent and its influence in elections.

“I do not have a super PAC, and I do not want a super PAC,” he said.

Both Trump and Sanders had been holding a sizable lead in New Hampshire for months before the primary.

Before Tuesday, polls had Trump in the lead with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Kasich following, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.

Sanders was also leading Clinton by about 10 points in polls leading up to the primary.

The New Hampshire primary comes after Ted Cruz beat Trump and Rubio, and Clinton narrowly defeated Sanders in the Iowa caucus.

 

Published on February 9, 2016 at 9:12 pm

Contact Rachel: rsandler@syr.edu