11 February,2016 07:40 AM IST | | Agencies
The Socialist Democratic presidential hopeful got 60 per cent of total Democratic votes, while Donald Trump won the Republican side
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump
Washington: Bernie Sanders yesterday handed his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton a defeat in the New Hampshire primary, while controversial Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump solidified his frontrunner status in the Republican Party by registering a thumping victory in the race to the White House.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders
Vermont Senator Sanders (74) won the New Hampshire contest after Clinton conceded defeat. Sanders received 60 per cent of the votes as against 38 per cent by the 68-year-old former secretary of state. He described his win as a "political revolution" while Clinton said that she is not giving up.
Trump's victory
Trump (69) defeated his nearest rival John Kasich, Governor of Ohio, by a huge margin of more than 50,000 votes. Trump, a reality TV star who has never run for office, and Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist, were seen as long-shot outsiders when they launched their campaigns. Both candidates are riding on a wave of discontent with mainstream politics.
Trump appeared on stage with a beaming smile on his face and gave a thumbs-up to his crowd of supporters. "We are going to make America great again," Trump said in his victory speech.
New Hampshire has delivered a painful personal blow to Clinton, who squeezed out the narrowest of victories in Iowa last week. New Hampshire is the state that made her husband Bill Clinton the "comeback kid" in 1992.
She had won in New Hampshire eight years ago against US President Barack Obama.
