A winner in N.H., Trump faces fresh test in South Carolina

Donald Trump proclaims his front-runner status at a rally Tuesday night in Manchester, N.H.
Donald Trump proclaims his front-runner status at a rally Tuesday night in Manchester, N.H.

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Now officially a winner after clinching New Hampshire, Donald Trump faced a fresh test for his campaign as the Republican presidential race careened into more conservative territory in South Carolina.

The billionaire political novice posted a decisive victory in the nation's first primary, leaving in his wake a still-crowded field of Republicans struggling to break out of the pack. Democrats lined up behind Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders while delivering a New Hampshire rejection of Hillary Clinton's second bid for the White House.

With no clear rival to Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for the Republicans, the candidates headed south Wednesday with little clarity about a nomination battle that seemed likely to stretch into the spring. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie nixed a planned event in South Carolina and headed home to mull whether to stay in the race.

Trump wasn't publicly choosing among his rivals. "I think they're all really potential threats," he said on MSNBC. "But I'm OK at handling threats."

With final votes still being tallied, Trump led with 35 percent of the vote in New Hampshire. In a primary stunner, Ohio Gov. John Kasich surged from relative obscurity to second place. Cruz finished third, trailed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in fourth, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in fifth and Christie in sixth.

Sanders was leading Clinton by 22 percentage points, with roughly 90 percent of their party's vote tabulated. Democrats move on to Nevada, where Sanders will leave his New England neighborhood and try to prove his mettle with a more diverse and urban electorate.

Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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