[justlittleoleme]

If it becomes a Trump vs Cruz race it will be a good thing, what could be dangerous about that?

last night may have been the establishment's last stand.

I agree, I think that Kasich is a one hit wonder here, but I find the new Kasich Fruit Ninja oddly entertaining....

No I do not think 3rd place = 1st place in New Hampshire.

I believe Cruz had a solid showing in an open primary in one of the most liberal voting states in the US. Listening to the news yesterday he wasn't even mentioned in alot of the commentators' list of who they thought would place in the top 3. It was like they would pretend Cruz didn't even exist.

Congrats to the Trump supporters on New Hampshire. It was a solid win. On to South Carolina!

[rktman]

I thought yeb boosh won. /s

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

This idiot writer didn’t even bother to look at the exit polls, before he started complaining about unaffiliated voters giving Trump the win. Trump dominated every demographic to the point that even if you took all those people out and left only the most conservative voters in, then Trump would have still won New Hampshire.

[andy1954]

NO, Trump was the real winner last night. If I had to pick between Cruz and Trump, I would go with Cruz. But he can’t beat Trump and I still believe that Ted Cruz would be our poorest general election candidate. I don’t see it. I could be wrong, I have been before.

[freedomjusticeruleoflaw]

Carly was also a big winner, she beat Carson handily. Also meaningless though. Thanks for the congratulations. The battle will now come down to Bush vs. Trump in very short order. Please help us defeat the establishment Bush Dynasty.

[Old Retired Army Guy]

I don’t know who thinks Cruz can prevail in Dixie. I live in South Alabama and I would bet the farm that Trump will carry the State and probably every Southern State with the possible exception of Texas, which is Cruz’s home State. Kasich will flame out in South Carolina, but the guy who will hang around will probably be Bush.

[samtheman]

The morons are really out in force.

Let me make it simple, even for those with IQs below 50, like the writer of this article:

TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.
TRUMP WON THE CONSERVATIVE VOTE IN NH.

[DouglasKC]

Cruz will do well in South Carolina but Trump pulls in conservatives plus non-conservatives. My prediction is Trump by 10%.

[dartuser]

Ted Cruz Might Be The Real Winner In New Hampshire

Kinda like the real winner of the Super Bowl was the Carolina Panthers.

[annieokie]

It was like they would pretend Cruz didn't even exist.""""....

Same treatment this morning.......not one mention of Cruz, but did speak with Bush.

I didn't know the win, place or show positions until this morning, they only had a sign up to show the results, with no mention of Cruz.......

[TheStickman]

Because coming in 3rd is “winning”.

So much disordered logic being being presented as “reasonable”.

[freeandfreezing]

"...the fact that non-affiliated voters are allowed to vote in the primaries rewards candidates who are perceived as moderate and authentic..\"

Undeclared voters in NH range from liberal to conservative, with a lot of people mixed in who either don't like either party or just don't care or know about them. And some voters who are savvy enough to want to be able to pick what party's primary they vote in.

Kasich probably pulled in a lot of the liberals who knew Sanders would win, or don't care if Hillary or Sanders is the Democratic nominee so they picked a Republican ballot instead. They won't vote that way in the general election.

[cuban leaf]

To give this some perspective, the Japanese won at Pearl Harbor.
My point is that the author’s point is valid. Everyone knew trump was way ahead and Trump was not even the issue for Cruz. Rather, Cruz’s battle with others was the issue. And Rubio’s fall is a very big deal.

The article is about losing a battle, but coming out a lot stronger than expected - and winning the war.

I’m reminded of “Francisco” coming out of the dirt section of the first race in Cars 2. Cruz held his own in a state where he knew he was very weak. Trump did what was expected.

Also, if you understand NH, the state is, by definition, an outlier. My daughter is moving there as part of the “Free State Project”. (google it)

[r_barton]

I guess Losing is the New Winning. ;-)

[TomGuy]

The real winner?

From Iowa ‘they’ said Rubio (#3) won.

From NH ‘they’ claim Cruz (#3 or #4) won.

Uh, no — the winners were the ones with the most votes.

[Sgt_Schultze]

Everybody is a winner, except for the guy who got the most votes. He’s actually a loser . . . because his margin wasn’t as big as predicted by the pundits who said he’d actually lose.

[samtheman]

Someone just sent me a freemail saying that conservative might not mean the same in NH as elsewhere.

I prefer to respond here, rather than in freepmail, but will respect that persons privacy.

I disagree with the assertion that a NH conservative is somehow not a real or true conservative. (Sound familiar? Only Cruz supporters are true conservatives, dont ya know?)

There are strong conservatives in every blue state in America, especially NH. There is a strong old-time conservative tradition in that state and to say that the conservatives who supported Trump in NH arent real conservatives is just more of the denial that a certain hard-core group of Cruz pathetics are clinging to.

[CA Conservative]

Cruz did what he needed to do. He neither overperformed or underperformed - his final total was very close to his polling average for the state.

There was no way he was going to win NH - it is too liberal. But by coming in the top 3, he keeps his momentum going. What is kind of impressive is that he pulled off 3rd place after spending only $1 million from both his campaign and the super pacs, and after spending only a total of 27 days in the state. He leaves the state with more hard money than any other candidate, and the best organization in the states coming up over the next month.

Now on to SC and the SEC primary!

[JediJones]

Steve Deace nailed the order of the winners in his NH prediction, after nailing Iowa. His predictions will be the ones to watch in SC.

It’s wrong for anyone to pigeonhole Cruz as a “social conservative” candidate. He’s a social conservative in the way that Reagan was. They’re both socially conservative but both just as studied on economics and foreign policy as the best of their competitors. That’s why Cruz held up against the “mainstream” candidates. If you’re smart and like substance in your answers, Cruz was far and away the winner of the NH debate. Fox showed Cruz spent less money in NH per voter than any of the top 6, so he easily would’ve beaten Kasich if he spent as much time as Kasich did there.

Cruz’ biggest problem in the South will be that Trump is the first “dog whistle” candidate in a long time. Or more of an elephant gun than a dog whistle. Trump appeals greatly to anyone with prejudicial tendencies due to the bombs he’s dropped about Mexicans and Muslims. That makes the south perhaps tougher territory for Cruz than the Midwest. I don’t know how many of those voters there are in the south, but there are definitely more than in all other regions of the country.

[euram]

The Daily Caller is more like the Daily Bawler.

Every poll I’ve seen coming out of the South shows Trump winning handily. He’s 16 points ahead of Cruz in SC (pre IA and NH polls.) The only place I see Cruz leading is in TX, and only by 4 points last time I saw any numbers.

[Not gonna take it anymore]

I think winning means you got the most votes.

Has that changed? lol