DISENCHANTED VOTERS

Independent voters wield special clout in New Hampshire, second in the series of state-by-state contests that lead to the parties’ formal presidential nominating conventions in July, because they can vote in either party’s primary.

At a polling station in Manchester, Joan and Roland Martineau said they voted for the two candidates they believed they could trust to shake things up.

Joan, 68, went for Sanders. “I like his views, I like the way he speaks, I think I can trust him,” she said.

Roland, 73, a registered Republican, went for Trump, a man he said was “more honest” than other candidates. But he said he would back Sanders over Trump in the general election in November.

Some 73 percent of voters say they think the United States is on the wrong track, and these disaffected people make up a majority of the support bases for Trump and Sanders, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

They are worried about the economy and distrust establishment politicians they perceive as being part of the problem.

CLINTON CAMPAIGN LOOKS TO SOUTH CAROLINA

Sanders had 60 percent of the vote based on 66 percent of the vote, ahead of former Secretary of State Clinton, who had 38 percent.

Clinton had for months been the front-runner nationally. But a Reuters/Ipsos poll done Feb 2-5 showed Clinton and Sanders now in a dead heat.

Clinton, 68, congratulated Sanders, 74, in a speech to supporters. She defended her progressive stances and vowed to be the candidate who fixes problems and not just state them. She appealed to African-American and Latino voters and acknowledged she had work to do winning over young voters.

“People have every right to be angry but they’re also hungry, they’re hungry for solutions,” she said. “I will work harder than anyone to actually make the changes that make your lives better.”

Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said in a memo that the Democratic nomination would “very likely” be decided in March, with the support of black and Hispanic voters key to victory. The next primary races are in Nevada and South Carolina later this month.

“It will be very difficult, if not impossible, for a Democrat to win the nomination without strong levels of support among African-American and Hispanic voters,” Mook wrote.