Kasich gains momentum, Hillary needs to reboot and more.
The race for choosing the Presidential nominees for the Republican and the Democratic parties just got more interesting with the granite state of New Hampshire making their voice heard loud and clear. The predominantly white state has chosen to give a leg-up to candidates who are not necessarily the first choice of the respective party establishments. However, New Hampshire has also raised more questions than it has answered. While leaders like Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz will likely to treat it as a blip on their radar, Sanders and Kasich will hope that New Hampshire acts as a domino for fights in Nevada, South Carolina and beyond.
Here are the top takeaways from the New Hampshire elections.
1. The Trump threat is real
(Reuters)
Donald Trump won in New Hampshire hands down. He was expected to do so, but after his less than impressive performance in Iowa, many thought that the Trump juggernaut would come crashing down. But New Hampshire has shown that the Trump fairy tale or horror story (depending on how you look at it) is far from over. Trump is still as abusive and caustic as ever, but his campaign is fine-tuning its strategy to match other candidates. It will be left to seen if any genuine Republican competitor emerges to counter Trump in the next month or so.
2. ‘This is now a real campaign’
(PTI)
Politico quotes former Democratic strategist Robert Shrum as saying the above line in context to the Democratic nomination. For nearly a year, everyone thought Hillary Clinton's nomination was a foregone conclusion but we have a party pooper in 74-year-old Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. A significant factor is that he is getting rousing support from the youth. Hillary's appeal is waning even among the key demography of women voters. Between 18 to 29 years old, 80% gave their nod to Sanders. According to many experts, the white left of the Democratic party has completely shifted towards Bernie Sanders. The important question is how far the Democratic party has shifted towards the Left and if, like Obama, he can rally the youth across the nation, especially in more diverse demography where Hillary continues her stranglehold. But today's results will definitely propel Sanders to go big nationally.
3. Hillary campaign needs a fresh message
(PTI)
In an election cycle, where anti-establishment sentiment is high on both sides of the aisle, Clinton is widely seen as a candidate backed by the rich and powerful. Sanders has repeatedly tried to hammer home the point that the super-rich can no longer determine the fate of the country. Hillary is trying to strike a pragmatic note focussing on what can be done rather than playing to the popular discordant mood. But somewhere her campaign looks a bit jaded and needs a fresh message, particularly to attract the impatient youth and women support (which many thought she was assured of getting). Hillary herself acknowledged this in so many words when she said, "I know I have some work to do, particularly with young people".
Clinton enjoys the support of the super PACs and of a diverse group, but she needs to ensure that the campaign doesn't suffer from a lack of momentum while countering the Bernie wave. In 1992 and 2008, New Hampshire proved lucky for the Clintons. But this time, it may have given sufficient pointers for Clinton to ultimately enter White House.
4. John Kasich- the big moderate Republican hope?
(PTI)
In an election where the hardliners have so far ruled the roost, Kasich who is unabashedly moderate in his leanings and even been chided as the Obama of the Republican party emerged as the runner-up to Donald Trump. Whether Kasich can emerge as the Republican establishment's hope is a question for future, but New Hampshire has certainly given a fresh lease of hope to his campaign and to all Trump naysayers, who believe 'good sense' will finally prevail over the urge for a hostile takeover by the right-wing in US politics.
5. Rubio robbed of his chances
(AFP)
After his debate gaffe, Marco Rubio was down to the fifth spot in New Hampshire. Ted Cruz too failed to keep the momentum going from his Iowa win. However, many believe stopping Rubio on his tracks is an indirect win for Cruz. As of now, the question still looms over who will (if at all) emerge as the worthy candidate to challenge Donald Trump within the Republican establishment. New Hampshire, by not providing any momentum to Cruz and Rubio, has failed to provide a clue to that puzzle.
The campaign trail goes South now and the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates will be further tested. But if New Hampshire was any indication, both the parties are still quite a while away from deciding who will eventually be their Presidential nominee for the 2016 Elections.
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