MANCHESTER, N.H. — An overflow crowd circled around the Executive Court in frigid temperatures, anxious to enter the victory party of the GOP front-runner Donald Trump.
Trump, who had consistently led by double digits in the Granite State, pulled off his presumed win going away. At a few seconds after 8 p.m., CNN and the Associated Press called the first-in-the-nation primary race for Trump and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. New Hampshire voters sent a message to the political Establishment with the first-place finishes of the two outsider candidates.
The crowd cheered with wild excitement as the winner was announced, chanting “Trump, Trump, Trump” and “USA USA USA.”
Over the past week, political pundits have criticized Trump’s ground game strategy, but the billionaire businessman was able to turn out the vote in the first-in-the-nation primary.
Trump made sure to reference his ground game in his victory speech.
“We learned a lot about ground games in one week,” Trump joked. “Does Corey have a ground game or what?” he asked, referring to campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
ABC News analysis showed that a fifth of Republican voters were looking for a candidate who “tells it like it is.” Overall, Trump won 63 percent of their votes.
“I voted for him because he’s aggressive,” said a voter from Windham, New Hampshire. “He won’t back down from anything. I’m happy about his win tonight, and I think he will win the nomination overall. I can’t wait to see him take on Hillary Clinton!”
Another Trump voter in the crowd was overwhelmed with excitement that her candidate placed first.
“He’s not afraid to take on challenges and articulate his own opinion on how to solve things — it’s what we need in this country right now,” she said.
While Trump’s win is significant, the strong second-place finish of Ohio Gov. John Kasich was the surprise of the night.
“Trump won fair and square, but I beat him in Dixville Notch,” said a laughing Kasich.
Both Kasich and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush were in desperate need of a win, especially Bush, whose campaign was on a death watch after his campaign was unable to gain momentum as he slid in the polls. But Bush all along has looked to survive Iowa, place in New Hampshire and move South, where his strength lies.
Kasich, lacking financial support, will face a tough battle going into South Carolina, which will hold its Republican primary on Feb. 20.
Undoubtedly, the GOP presidential field will narrow in the coming days.
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