Reporters' Log - New Hampshire primary

The BBC's team of correspondents log their impressions, reports and pictures as they watch events unfold at the New Hampshire primary election.

Most recent postings are at the top.

Ian Pannell :: Manchester, New Hampshire :: 0740GMT

John Kerry has proved himself here in the north east of the country as he proved himself in Iowa last week.

But the biggest test comes in a week's time when the contest spreads to seven states, mainly in the south and one key state, Missouri, in the west.

It is there that Mr Kerry has to prove that he has an appeal beyond the core of the party and can appeal to more conservative voters because don't forget, no Democrat has ever become president without carrying at least one state in the south and they tend not to like liberals from the north east.

Jeremy Cooke :: Manchester, New Hampshire :: 0604GMT

John Kerry celebrates with supporters at his victory rally

This was a resounding win for John Kerry and builds on his success at the Iowa caucus last week. He is now the clear favourite to be the democratic candidate to go head to head with President Bush in the presidential election in November. It still has a long way to go but Mr Kerry's campaign has built up a momentum which will be hard to stop. He now moves on south to court support there.

Michael Buchanan:: Hooksett, New Hampshire :: 0400GMT

With Howard Dean, there were none of the histrionics of Iowa. This was a calm, assured positive speech in front of about 300 supporters. He said his campaign did what they needed to do in New Hampshire, and they could build on this across America. His team highlighted Bill Clinton in 1992 who came second in New Hampshire to a New England candidate and went on to win the Democratic nomination.

Philippa Thomas:: Manchester, New Hampshire :: 0300GMT

Watching John Kerry, this shows it is not the time for politicians to ad-lib. Look at the trouble Howard Dean got into in Iowa. What struck me about John Kerry, he looked so relaxed and he engaged in populist rhetoric. He knows he has got to get mainstream; he has now got to win the south, the white vote, the black vote, the old, the young. He knows he has to broaden his appeal.

Rob Watson :: Manchester, New Hampshire :: 0155GMT

This looks like being another very good result for John Kerry. He already has a commanding lead. If he wins, he undoubtedly becomes the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. A win will give him momentum.

Philippa Thomas :: Manchester, New Hampshire :: 2320GMT

Whoever wins here gets a lot of momentum, and a lot of money, which will prove crucial in the next few weeks as they go out and buy their television advertising across the nation. We should get the first official exit poll in about two hours from now.

Jeremy Cooke :: Manchester, New Hampshire :: 2235GMT

It's been a tense political contest here, with every candidate in New Hampshire fighting to the end for every vote they can get. Senator John Kerry of neighbouring Massachusetts is still reckoned to be the front runner.

But even with his lead in the polls Senator Kerry has spent the day on the streets in sub zero temperatures, urging his supporters to get to the polls.

Philippa Thomas :: Manchester, New Hampshire :: 2210GMT

Its getting cold here and we're waiting for a snow storm, but the excitement is building as well. We have three hours now before polls close. Senator John Kerry is supposedly in the lead but Howard Dean says he is closing fast.

Rob Watson :: Manchester, New Hampshire :: 2155GMT

As in Iowa the race here has boiled down to one question. Who do Democrat voters consider has the best chance of beating George Bush in November?

But the race for the Democratic nomination is unlikely to be decided in New Hampshire. Though victory here will confer undoubted front runner status on the winner, there are races ahead in a series of states, where many of the voters are still up for grabs.

Kevin Anderson :: Manchester, New Hampshire :: 2145GMT

As the media waited for Joe Lieberman to appear at a polling place in Manchester New Hampshire, a familiar voice urged voters to cast their ballot for Howard Dean. The voice was familiar but the face wasn't. Jim Dean - a voice double for his brother - gave the last pitch to voters before they cast their ballots.

He thinks the criticism of his brother as being hot-headed is "way out of control." Critics have been feeding this image of him since last summer, Jim Dean said, but "as a person and a personality that's just not him."

He was upbeat about his brother's chances.

Jim Dean refutes criticism of his brother Howard as hot-headed

"I think we're going to have a good story to tell out of this. The polls are all over the place, but the general buzz out there is that we're going to do well," he said, adding, "I think we've got a chance to take it all."

And he predicts that the Dean campaign is ready for the long run with a presence in almost every state. After the New Hampshire primaries, the campaign becomes a sprint, with a crush of primaries in February and early March. Organisation and a big war chest will be key for those candidates who survive these early contests.

Kevin Anderson :: Manchester, New Hampshire :: 2000GMT

Candidate Wesley Clark was mobbed by cameras at a polling place in Manchester New Hampshire. His supporters chanted, "First Bush lost in '92, now we're seeing déjà vu!".

Polls show the former general is locked in a battle for third place, but more than a third of voters in New Hampshire were undecided on the eve of the primary making the result difficult to predict.

General Wesley Clark was mobbed

Supporters for Howard Dean, John Kerry, John Edwards and Wesley Clark tried to outmanoeuvre each other for the cameras. Poll workers tried to hold back the crush of media to allow the trickle of voters to cast their ballots over the noon hour.

A lone Bush supporter turned out to show his support for the president who is running unopposed, saying "I'm standing up for what is right in a sea of wrong."

Philippa Thomas :: Manchester, New Hampshire :: 1720GMT

What we have here is a northern vote. We're in the north east of the United States and two of the other candidates, Senator John Edwards from North Carolina and General Wesley Clark are saying they're southern men, they have an all-round appeal, and they'll do better later on.

So they're trying to say already: "if they we don't do well here, we'll do better later on".

Katty Kay :: Manchester, New Hampshire :: 1620GMT

Again and again the same message comes back to me: the Democrats want more than anything somebody who can beat George Bush in November.

A lot of people have said to me: "I would have liked to vote for Howard Dean - that's where my heart is telling me to go, but my head is telling me to go to John Kerry, because he's the one with the experience.

But there's this large group of undecideds and those are the people who are going to make this election very hard to call.

Rob Watson :: Hampton, New Hampshire :: 1600GMT

Voters have been arriving here by car and even snow plough to cast their votes and despite the sub-freezing temperatures, turnout is high.

Voters here seem less concerned about the fine print of the candidates' policies, than their ability to beat George W Bush,

As one voter put it, she'd vote for her cat if she thought it could defeat the President.

Kevin Anderson :: Merrimack, New Hampshire :: 1520GMT

Fallen frontrunner Howard Dean showed voters a much more subdued candidate this week after an overly enthusiastic concession speech saturated not only campaign coverage but also the comedy routines of late night shows in the US. He tried to refocus his message on issues to regain the momentum.

John Kerry celebrates with supporters at his victory rally

But as voters went to the polls in New Hampshire, Mr Dean lashed out at the media and current front runner John Kerry in an interview on CNN. He said that Mr Kerry should "stop whining" about attacks from his rivals and the media.

And he said that the Senator from Massachusetts will have to be tough now that he leads the polls, just as he had to learn to endure the attacks when he led in the polls last year.

Katty Kay :: Manchester, New Hampshire :: 1215GMT

When General Wesley Clark first launched his campaign he was seen as the great hope of the Democratic Party, the general who was opposed to the war in Iraq and perhaps could take on President Bush.

But I went to a rally of his yesterday evening and it was pretty poorly attended.

The hopes people had for him don't seem to have lived up to that much so far.

Senator John Kerry who won the Iowa caucuses is leading the polls - but the polls are pretty unreliable, largely because a lot of people here have not yet decided.

They're going into the voting booths without having really decided who they want.

Katty Kay :: Manchester, New Hampshire :: 1020GMT

Whoever wins this vote will get a lot of momentum, support and crucially also money. Whoever wins here could go on to get the nomination, but there's no guarantee.

What comes across to me here in New Hampshire is that this is not really so much an election about issues.

Voters are saying to me that they can't really tell the candidates apart when it comes to things like healthcare, foreign policy and the economy.

It seems to be more about finding somebody who New Hampshire voters believe can take on George Bush.

That is the real key, this issue of electability and who can beat Bush in November. It's almost more to do with personality and how somebody comes across.

They're looking for somebody who appears presidential.

Rob Watson :: New Hampshire :: 0630GMT

Senator Kerry may be in the lead but the others have hardly given up the fight, or the claim to be best placed to take on the president.

Among them the North Carolina Senator John Edwards, and, although he's no longer the favourite, Howard Dean is still drawing enthusiastic chants.

As is general turned candidate Wesley Clark, who stood on top of a café bar stool to make his pitch.

But commentators say this vote may not be decisive. The race for the White House is after all a marathon, not a sprint.

Clive Myrie :: New Hampshire :: 0630GMT

It's not that often you see a goat attend a political rally but hey, welcome to America.

Pulled by a rope, wearing an "I support Howard Dean" banner across its belly, the goat was outside a town hall in New Hampshire, where it was waiting for the former Governor of Vermont to arrive.

Dean supporters, including the goat, are hoping New Hampshire can live up to its nickname of being the "comeback state."

Bill Clinton in 1992 floundered in the Iowa caucuses but recovered well enough in New Hampshire to eventually win the nomination. So why not Howard Dean?

He certainly floundered in Iowa, coming in a distant third behind Kerry and North Carolina Senator John Edwards.

Meanwhile, with temperatures well below freezing, winter sports stores have been doing a roaring trade in the last few days, catering to wimpy journalists like myself who can't cope with the Arctic winds blowing across the area.

What makes New Hampshire interesting is that almost 40 per cent of voters consider themselves to be independents. Neither die-hard Democrats nor Republicans.

That means it's notoriously difficult to accurately predict which way the primary will go.

Kevin Anderson :: Dixville Notch, NH :: 0600GMT

General Wesley Clark was campaigning right up until the polls opened in Dixville Notch, population 33.

The small town in the White Mountains of New Hampshire has been the traditional first polling place to report. The town clerk counted the down the minutes until the polls opened at midnight.

The 19 registered voters who had not cast absentee ballots all prepared to cast their votes under the glare of camera lights.

Within five minutes, the votes were cast, and just 10 minutes later, the votes had been tallied. George W Bush got 11 Republican votes. The town clerk said: "On the Democratic side, there's a bit more of a spread."

The last minute push by Mr Clark paid off. He won eight votes to runner-up John Kerry, who received three votes. John Edwards followed close behind with two votes, and Howard Dean and Joe Lieberman each received one vote.

The result had to cheer the former general, even though it might be a momentary victory. Mr Clark had once been seen as the best alternative to a surging Howard Dean.

But with Howard Dean's disappointing result in Iowa, Mr Clark has slumped in the polls.

But this moment was his, and Mr Clark relished the result in his first election since winning homeroom student council president in his school days. But this is only the beginning. The final polls will close in 20 hours.

Gordon Corera :: Manchester, NH :: 0520GMT

In the Palace Theatre in Manchester, New Hampshire, a man calling himself "the acting President of the United States" gets a rapturous welcome from the crowd.

The line between fact and fiction, fantasy and reality, often blurs in American politics, but rarely more so than here.

The actor Martin Sheen who plays the President of the United States in the TV series "West Wing" is introducing Howard Dean, a man who wants to be the real President of the United States.

Last night, Sheen even held his own town hall meeting, without Dean, in a town called Bartlett - the name of his fictional President who also comes from New England.

Sheen manages the unusual feat of quoting a poet from India on patriotism before introducing the main attraction.

The rally is not quite packed out and Dean himself is more low key than he's been in the past.

Its hard to know if that's a symptom of the sheer exhaustion that seems to be setting in amongst all the candidates.

Then again it could be a deliberate decision after his "scream" speech on the night of the Iowa caucuses to look more controlled.

The strangest part of Dean's event comes when a couple of odd-ball protesters have to be wrestled to the ground by security.

A hundred yards away, General Wesley Clark's supporters gather. Their candidate has chosen to make them wait outside in the freezing cold for what sadly ends up being a very quick appearance as part of his last minute 10 county tour of New Hampshire.

Clark's newer, less tested organisation is revealed when the candidate seems to not have much of an idea where he's going after he finishes speaking.

Lost in a scrum of TV cameras, he wanders in the opposite direction of his bus and heads off down the Manchester street followed by hordes of press, his own supporters and a few supporters of the Kerry campaign who are trying to out-cheer the Clark folks.

A quarter of an hour later, the amusing scene seems to be no closer to a conclusion as the two campaign's supporters try to out- shout each other in a good natured confrontation on opposing sides of the pavement.

Bewildered motorists and shoppers look quizzically on and candidate Clark continues to look for his bus.