Trump, Sanders Head South After Winning New Hampshire

After winning their respective GOP and Democrat primaries, Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders now turn their attention to South Carolina, and then the all-important SEC Primary, where seven states -- including Georgia -- will hold their presidential primaries.

Trump and Sanders easily bested their opponents by solid margins in one of the largest turnouts in state history, reports Concord Patch.

The networks projected wins for both Trump and Sanders at 8:01 p.m., a historic first, a minute after polls closed in late voting cities and towns, based on dynamic numbers being reported in Exit Polls and tabulations made in higher population communities that ended its voting at 7 pm.

On the Republican side, Trump came in first, followed by Gov. John Kasich, R-OH, former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-FL, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-FL, and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL, all of whom battled it out for second and third place.

For Democrats, Sanders had a 18-plus percent lead against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Trump continues to invest heavily in Georgia, with a southwest Georgia rally held last week and new campaign offices in Brunswick, Evans (in middle Georgia) and Valdosta. His Atlanta office opened a few weeks ago.

Polls in Georgia show Clinton with a substantial lead over Sanders. A Channel 2 Action News poll last week showed Clinton by a three to one margin.

Georgia, along with Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, will hold their presidential primaries on March 1.

Georgians who want to vote now can do so by voting a mail-in absentee ballot.

Early, in-person voting began this past Monday.

On Tuesday night, Sanders said that he won because his campaign harnessed the energy and enthusiasm of people frustrated with the status quo. He said if they party works to capture those voters across the country, it would the presidency again. Right-wing Republicans, he added, must not be allowed to win the presidency.

Sanders called for campaign finance reform and a changed to the “rigged economy” where all the new income and wealth was going to the Top 1 percent of wage earnings.

“So beautiful,” Trump said to cheers at the Executive Court in Manchester where hundreds of people were turned away due to fire codes. “This is something very special ... We are going to make America great again.”

Trump thanked his supporters and suggested that his parents were looking down upon him from heaven … they loved this country, he added. Trump also congratulated all the other Republican candidates as well as Sanders.

“You started it,” he said after thanking the people of New Hampshire for catapulting him to a huge win.

Patch is your leading source for local news and information regarding this year’s historic presidential election. Check out some of our previous coverage, and stay with your local Patch for the latest in political news throughout our communities.

• Monday is the Last Day to Register for Georgia’s Presidential Primary
• Jimmy Carter: I Prefer Trump Over Cruz
• Trump Won’t Give Up Georgia Without a Fight
• Absentee Voting For SEC Presidential Primary Begins in Georgia
• Donald Trump Opens Georgia Campaign Office
• Bernie Sanders Rally in Atlanta Monday
• Patch Poll: Should Georgia Provide Spanish-only Ballots?
• ‘Trump as Hitler’ Graffiti Spotted in Buckhead
• Ben Carson Rap Radio Ad Debuts in Atlanta
• Rubio Making Campaign Stop in Buckhead
• Trump Remarks Get Him Disinvited From Conservative Forum in Atlanta
• Trump, GOP Candidates Heading to Buckhead