The final numbers are in, and this is sure to be a primary election for the history books. With 100% of precincts reporting, Donald Trump is the winner of the Republican primary battle and Bernie Sanders has won the Democratic vote. 535,103 people turned out to vote (61.23%), breaking the record for turnout last set in 2008.
Donald Trump ended up with 35.3% of the vote, over 100,000 people. In a surprise second was Ohio Governor John Kasich with 15.8% of the vote, followed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz with 11.7% of the vote and Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush with 11.0%. Finishing in a disappointing 5th place was Florida Senator Marco Rubio with 10.6%. This is not a good sign for the Senator, as he had been polling consistently second or third to Donald Trump for several weeks. However, this is a campaign booster for Governor Kasich, who up until now has been polling 6th nationally with an average of 4% of the vote. Governor Chris Christie and businesswoman Carly Fiorina will be dropping out of the race. Unfortunately, if Ben Carson cannot perform well in the upcoming Nevada Caucuses, his future looks bleak. Jim Gilmore ended up with a total of 133 votes, which is significantly less than Performance Artist Vermin Supreme received on the Democratic side (260 votes). If Jim Gilmore does not end up dropping out within the week, we may expect to see his name continue to pop up until June.
Bernie Sanders finished with 60.4% of the Democratic vote to Hillary's 38.0%. While not quite hitting the predicted 25-point margin, the ultimate tally ended up beyond 20 percentage points (22.4 to be precise). This does not bode well for Hillary, who had hoped to lose by less than 10 points. The high turnout that Bernie boasted of came true, and Hillary was crushed in New Hampshire. However, Bernie's battle is only just beginning. Hillary still polls far ahead of Bernie in Nevada and South Carolina (20 and 30 points, respectively). Regardless, this will not be the coronation that many thought Hillary would get. For the Democrats, New Hampshire proved the battle is still up in the air.
