US ELECTION 2016_ US election 2016: New Hampshire voters head to polls for US presidential primary

ABC NEWS

US election 2016: New Hampshire voters head to polls for US presidential primary

Updated 22 minutes ago



Photo: Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz speaks with a customer in the Red Arrow Diner in Manchester as voters went to the polls. (Reuters: Eric Thayer)

New Hampshire voters are trudging through snow to vote in the second key test of the 2016 White House race, with Donald Trump chasing victory and Hillary Clinton looking to narrow the gap on local hero Bernie Sanders.

Authorities said they were expecting a record turnout and polling station officials described the early numbers as "very steady".

The north-eastern state, home to 1.3 million people, sets the tone for the primaries and could shake out a crowded Republican field of candidates, pitting Mr Trump and arch-conservative Senator Ted Cruz against more establishment candidates led by Senator Marco Rubio.

"Look... I like to win," Mr Trump told MSNBC as voting got underway.

"I mean, that's what I do, I win. I didn't go in it to lose."

Mr Trump used the morning television appearance to urge voters to take part.

Most candidates were making final campaign stops throughout the day, but Republican hopeful Ben Carson had already left to go to the next primary state.

Kicking off the primary in a time-honoured tradition, the handful of voters in Dixville Notch, one of three small communities to vote at the turn of midnight, went to the polls.

Mr Sanders took four votes to none for Ms Clinton, while Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich received three to Mr Trump's two.

But everything still remains in play in New Hampshire due to a high number of registered independents, who can choose to vote in either party, along with up to 30 per cent of voters who were still undecided in the days before polling.

Snow fell heavily in the state late on Monday, snarling traffic and creating a last-minute obstacle for voters and candidates who braved plunging temperatures and freezing winds.

"This is crunch time," the Republican frontrunner Mr Trump told thousands of cheering supporters at an event delayed slightly by snow in Manchester.

'No perfect candidate'



Photo: Early indications point to a strong turnout for voting in New Hampshire. (Reuters: Carlo Allegri)

Mr Trump has energised broad swaths of blue-collar Americans, angry about economic difficulties and frustrated at what they see as their country losing its stature in the world.

But the New York billionaire will have to translate his soaring lead in the polls into a win in New Hampshire if he is to recover from the embarrassment of finishing second behind Mr Cruz in the Iowa caucuses last week that kicked off the presidential nomination process.

The rest of the Republican pack has been fighting it out, aiming for a strong second or even solid third-place showing that could reinvigorate them for South Carolina and Nevada, the next stops on the long road to becoming the party's nominee.

A poor result will likely rupture the presidential dreams for 2016 for former and current governors Jeb Bush, Mr Kasich and Chris Christie.

On the Democratic front, Ms Clinton will be looking to confound polls that predict her insurgent challenger, Mr Sanders of neighbouring Vermont, will gallop to victory in the state.

"You know, I just love the way New Hampshire does this," Ms Clinton said as she and her daughter Chelsea greeted cheering, sign-waving campaign volunteers at a school in Manchester.

"I like the way the people of New Hampshire take it so seriously."

The RealClearPolitics poll average shows the self-described democratic socialist — who has called for nothing short of a "political revolution" — leading 53.3 per cent to 40.5 per cent for Ms Clinton in New Hampshire.

Ms Clinton won Iowa by a hair, but Mr Sanders is keen to show his campaign, built on economic fairness for all, can give the former secretary of state a run for her money deep into election season.

"Not one of the candidates are perfect," said Robbie Grady, a retiree attending a final Ms Clinton rally.

"In my eyes I think she's the most qualified and she's the person I'd like to see in the Oval Office."

AFP

Take a look at photos our North America correspondents Zoe Daniel and Stephanie March have been taking from the campaign trail in New Hampshire:

SEE MORE: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-09/polls-open-in-new-hampshire-us-presidential-primary/7154074

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