New Hampshire Votes in Crucial Step Toward US Presidency

Residents in the northeastern U.S. state of New Hampshire are voting in this year’s crucial first primary election to select Republican and Democratic party candidates for U.S. president.

Statewide public opinion surveys before the vote in New Hampshire indicated a slight preference among Republicans for Senator John McCain over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

The Arizona senator told supporters he would be the best candidate to face the challenge of radical Islam. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who won last week’s Iowa caucus, was running third in polls before the primary.

Among the Democratic candidates, opinion polls indicated Illinois Senator Barack Obama had a significant lead over New York Senator Hillary Clinton and other candidates from the party. Large crowds cheered Obama at campaign appearances Monday, but he cautioned supporters not to be overconfident.

The state-by-state nominating process culminates with the Democratic and Republican parties’ national conventions in August and September to choose a candidate for the November general election.

The first results from New Hampshire came in Tuesday just after midnight local time (0500 UTC), when by tradition, two small communities, Dixville Notch and Hart’s Location, voted hours before the rest of the state. In the first 46 votes, Senator Obama was ahead of fellow Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, and Senator McCain was ahead of his rivals on the Republican side.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

by VOA News

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