CONCORD, N.H. -- Arizona Sen. John McCain has been projected by The Associated Press as the winner of the New Hampshire Republican primary, while Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton dueled in the Democratic contest.

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"We showed the people of this country what a real comeback looks like," McCain told The Associated Press in an interview as he savored his triumph. "We're going to move on to Michigan and South Carolina and win the nomination."

With votes counted from 45 percent of the state's precincts, McCain was winning 37 percent of the vote, Romney had 30 and Huckabee 12. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had 9 percent, Texas Rep. Ron Paul 8.

On the Democratic side, Clinton had 39 percent of the vote compared to 37 percent for Obama, who is seeking to become the nation's first black president. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina trailed with 17 percent.

McCain rode a wave of support from independent voters to defeat former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, a showing that reprised his victory in the traditional first-in-the-nation primary in 2000.

It was a bitter blow for Romney, who spent millions of dollars of his own money in hopes of winning the kickoff Iowa caucuses and the first primary - and finished second in both.

"We thought we knew New Hampshire," Romney said in his concession speech. "Now we really know New Hamsphire."

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the Iowa GOP caucuses last week, was running third in the Republican race in New Hampshire.

Among Republicans, McCain was winning 39 percent of the vote, Romney had 28 and Huckabee 12. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had 9 percent, Texas Rep. Ron Paul 8.

Clinton, the former first lady who finished third in Iowa, was mounting an unexpectedly stiff challenge to Obama in the nation's first primary. Interviews with voters leaving their polling places showed she was winning handily among registered Democrats, while her rival led her by an even larger margin among independents.

With votes counted from 14 percent of the state's precincts, she had 40 percent to 35 percent for Obama, who is seeking to become the nation's first black president. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina trailed with 17 percent.

Clinton's performance, based on the early returns, surprised even her own inner circle.

In the hours leading up to the poll closing, her closest advisers had appeared to be bracing for a second defeat at the hands of Obama.

Officials said her aides were considering whether to effectively concede the next two contests -- caucuses in Nevada on Jan. 19 and a South Carolina primary a week later -- and instead try to regroup in time for a 22-state round of contests on Feb. 5.

These officials also said a campaign shake-up was in the works, with longtime Clinton confidante Maggie Williams poised to come aboard to help sharpen the former first lady's message. Other personnel additions are expected, according to these officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity while discussing strategy.

Obama, who won the leadoff Iowa caucuses last week, looked for an endorsement from the powerful Culinary Workers union in Nevada in the days ahead. South Carolina's Democratic electorate is heavily black and likely to go for the most viable black presidential candidate in history.

The Republican race turns next to Michigan, where McCain and Romney already are advertising on television, and where both men planned appearances on Wednesday. Huckabee also was expected to campaign in the state.

Independents Favor Obama

Independents found New Hampshire's Democratic primary the most attractive place to vote on Tuesday and gave Obama a boost. Women, lower-income voters and senior citizens favored Clinton, exit polls showed. Immigration was a defining issue in the Republican contest, as McCain far outdistanced the field among voters friendlier to illegal immigrants while Romney scored among voters who want them deported.

Registered independents could choose between the two parties' primaries, and early exit poll data indicated six in 10 opted for the Democratic contest. As in the Iowa caucuses five nights earlier, more than four in 10 independents supported Obama, far more than voted for any of the other Democrats, according to preliminary results of surveys conducted for The Associated Press and television networks.

Obama was even stronger in New Hampshire than in Iowa among the youngest voters, winning two-thirds of those age 18-24. Clinton and Edwards fared much better among 25- to 29-year-olds in New Hampshire than in Iowa, where more than half of them backed Obama.

In the Republican race, three in 10 GOP primary voters would offer illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship and half of them supported McCain, who had plummeted in preprimary polls last summer for supporting that idea.

Two in 10 Republican primary voters Tuesday favored allowing illegal immigrants to stay as temporary workers and they split evenly between McCain and Romney, who has taken a tougher line and attacked McCain on the issue. But McCain lagged well behind Romney among the half of Republican voters who said illegal immigrants should be deported.

McCain also found greater support among GOP voters who disapprove of the war in Iraq. Romney narrowly led among those who approve the war.

The results are from partial samples in exit polls Tuesday in 50 precincts around New Hampshire for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International. The surveys included 1,296 Democratic primary voters and 905 Republican primary voters. The sampling error margin was plus or minus 4 percentage points for the Democratic primary survey, 5 points for the Republican.

Link: Local N.H. Coverage

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