Trump, Sanders win New Hampshire by large margins

The polls have closed in New Hampshire, and Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have handily won their respective primaries in the state.

As of 8:40pm CST, Sanders had 60.4% to Hillary Clinton's 38.6%, while Trump had 33.4% with John Kasich running second at 16.9%.

The real question of the night, which remains to be answered, is who will end up in third, fourth and fifth place on the Republican side. Marco Rubio had been widely expected to take second place, but is currently trailing in fifth.

On the Republican side, candidates have to get 10% in order to receive delegates. Christie, Fiorina and Carson are well below that threshold, but earlier in the returns Rubio was flirting with dipping below as well.

If Ted Cruz maintains third-place, that is huge. He was not expected to play well in moderate-heavy New Hampshire, and three of the more moderate candidates practically lived in New Hampshire during the campaign (Kasich, Bush and Christie).

Three candidates, three states: Newt takes South Carolina

Rick Santorum learned this week that he actually did squeak out a 34-vote victory in the Iowa Caucus. Mitt Romney held on to a commanding lead in New Hampshire, and won the first-in-the-nation primary.

Now, in a very apropos manner, given how turbulent this race has been, Newt Gingrich has taken a dominating lead, and will win South Carolina. As of 7:30pm (CST), with 35.8% reporting, the results are Gingrich 40.4%, Romney 26.2%, Santorum 18.1%, and Paul in last with 13.4%.

Three states. Three different victors.

The next primary will be in Florida, on January 31st.

First votes from NH: Dixville Notch and Hart's Location

Political novelties Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, two tiny hamlets in New Hampshire, have cast their votes in the GOP primary. The communities are allowed by law to open voting right after midnight, and close when all registered voters complete voting (usually within minutes).

The GOP primary results from the two "first in the nation" locations:

• Mitt Romney: 7
• Ron Paul: 5
• Jon Huntsman: 4
• Newt Gingrich: 2
• Rick Perry: 1

Barack Obama received ten votes in the Democratic primary.

All eyes turn to South Carolina...

After the closer-than-a-hair finish in Iowa, sparked by the Santorum Surge, all eyes are now on South Carolina.

After squeaking out a plurality in Iowa by eight votes (which some are already calling into question), Mitt Romney goes into New Hampshire this Tuesday as the overwhelming favorite. The latest Rasmussen poll puts Romney at 42%, with Ron Paul at 18% and Rick Santorum at 13%. However, given Romney's history in the state, and the fact that he governed in next-door Massachusetts, that is not unexpected.

As Mark B. Lowe on Race42012.com posted this morning, We all know the old political adage, “Three tickets out of Iowa, two out of New Hampshire”. For a while now, a third phrase has been added to it, “One out of South Carolina”. Since 1980, the winner of the South Carolina primary has ended up being the eventual GOP presidential nominee.

The Rasmussen poll in South Carolina finds a close race between Romney at 27% and Santorum at 24%. Santorum was at 1% in the last poll taken by Rasmussen - an astounding surge! If they do not finish first or second, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry will probably end their campaigns, as there will be no momentum or reason to continue.

South Carolina votes on January 21st, and will most likely again decide the Republican presidential nominee.

Let the race begin: Gary Johnson is 2012's GOP first

Meet the first official 2012 GOP presidential candidate: former two-term New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. A libertarian Republican, Johnson made his announcement today on the steps of the New Hampshire state house.

Interesting facts: Johnson vetoed 750 bills in his tenure as governor (1995-2003). In 1995, he vetoed 47% of the bills that came across his desk, and vetoed more bills in his first term than all 49 other governors - combined. He also is an athlete, who has climbed Mount Everest, and has participated in the famous Hawaii Ironman Triathlon five times.

Click here to visit his campaign website.

And It Begins: First Presidential Primary Debates Announced

Get ready - the 2012 Presidential election is almost upon us!

Yes, the first Republican primary debates have already been announced. Nancy Reagan made public last month plans for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation to hold a debate in the spring of 2011, co-hosted by Politico and NBC News.

Today, CNN and the New Hampshire Union Leader announced that they will host a debate on June 7th, 2011, for the Republican candidates.

Along those lines, I'd like to point out that the old Race42008 blog has re-launched, now called Race42012.com (also affiliated with RightOSphere.com). R4'12 was a top site for news on the Presidential election, from the beginning of the primary. You will want to bookmark this site for Presidential primary information.

Primary Night: Big Victories for Tea Party Candidates

Tonight was primary night in several states, and Tea Party-supported candidates came out big. This continues the surge Tea Party candidates have had, capped off so far this year by Joe Miller's stunning victory in Alaska over U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Christine O'Donnell upset Congressman Mike Castle in the Delaware Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Castle, one of the most liberal Republicans in Congress, had long been considered a shoo-in, not only for the primary but also for the general election. O'Donnell received 53% of the vote this evening, while Castle got 47%.

The nomination of O'Donnell will make this particular race much more competitive. Last week, Rasmussen found Castle leading the Democrat nominee 48%-37%, and O'Donnell trailing 36%-47%.

In New Hampshire U.S. Senate primary, Ovide Lamontagne has been leading Kelly Ayotte all night, currently (10:30pm CST) by 41.2%-37.4%. Ayotte had the support of Sarah Palin, along with other, more establishment Republicans, but Lamontagne has received a lot of Tea Party support.

All Republican candidates for Senate have been in a slight lead in the New Hampshire race, according to polls.

In Wisconsin, Ron Johnson is cruising to an 80%+ victory. Johnson is also a Tea Party candidate, and has a viable chance at defeating incumbent U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI). Recent polls have had the two essentially tied, or with Johnson in a slight lead.