MANCHESTER, N.H. — Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain rose from the political ashes Tuesday, winning New Hampshire’s endorsement for their presidential campaigns.
The victories threw the major political parties into a tizzy and guaranteed that the presidential sweepstakes would become an even more furious horse race.
A joyous Clinton of New York greeted cheering supporters with a string of thank yous. She hugged her husband, former President Clinton, and their daughter, Chelsea, held her mother tightly.
“I come tonight with a very, very full heart, and I want especially to thank New Hampshire,” she said. “For the last week, I listened to you and in the process I found my own voice.
“We’ll give America the kind of comeback you have given me.”
Last week, Clinton stood before her supporters and urged them on after Sen. Barack Obama took first place in the Iowa caucus. Tuesday night, the shoe was on the other foot.
“I’m still fired up and ready to go,” Obama said. “I want to congratulate Sen. Clinton on a hard-fought victory here in New Hampshire. She did an outstanding job — give her a big round of applause.”
Asked if he believed Clinton helped her cause by tearing up Monday while meeting with undecided voters at a Portsmouth cafe, Terry McAuliffe, Clinton’s campaign chairman, said: “Sure I do. People saw how passionate she is about the issues.”
The tightness of the Democratic race threatened to eclipse the Republican race with its equally remarkable outcome.
McCain’s victory electrified his headquarters and threw the crowded Republican field into even more confusion than the Democratic side. The former front-runner, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, is now a two-time loser — but to different opponents, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and McCain.
To the strains of the theme from “Rocky,” McCain was greeted by his supporters in the ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nashua with chants of “Mac is back! Mac is back!”
Staffers and volunteers exchanged high fives and waved their fists. The crowd wanted to be roused, and McCain didn’t let them down.
“We sure showed ‘em what a comeback looks like,” he said.
Romney called McCain at 8:20 p.m. to congratulate him on his victory. Shortly afterward, the family went to the banquet hall where several hundred supporters cheered Romney, who vowed to press on.
“I’ll make sure America is what it has always been, the hope of the Earth,” Romney told the crowd.
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