NBC Projects Clinton Win in New Hampshire

01.08.08 -- 7:32 PM

By Reuters

MANCHESTER, N.H (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton won the New Hampshire Democratic primary on Tuesday, a huge victory that bolstered her bid for the party's presidential nomination after a third place loss in Iowa last week, NBC projected.

The projected win over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama revived the former first lady's momentum as the race headed into an intense month of campaigning culminating in the Super Tuesday nominating contests on February 5, when voters in some 22 states pick presidential candidates.

Republican John McCain, meanwhile, capped his rise from the political scrap heap with a big win over Mitt Romney that gave new life to his once-struggling presidential campaign.

The win put McCain, an Arizona senator, in the middle of a wild scramble for the party's nomination for the November election after being written off this summer when he was low on cash and shedding campaign staff.

"Tonight, we sure showed 'em what a comeback looks like," McCain told a crowd of supporters in Nashua who repeatedly chanted "Mac is back!"

Obama, bidding to be the first black president, aimed for a New Hampshire win that would solidify his hold on the top spot in the race to be the Democratic candidate and deal a second consecutive humiliating loss to Clinton, the former front-runner.

But Clinton, who became emotional on Monday when talking about her quest for the presidency, jumped back in the thick of the race with her win.

(Additional reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst, Jeff Mason, Mark Egan, Ed Stoddard and Jason Szep in New Hampshire; Editing by David Wiessler)

(For more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)

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