Date of primary: 8 January Election polltracker Full state profile Q&A: US primary elections

Voters in New Hampshire defied opinion polls by giving Senator Hillary Clinton the Democratic nomination, days after she was beaten by Senator Barack Obama in Iowa.

Ahead of the vote, polls had suggested Mr Obama was ahead of Mrs Clinton by a widening margin.

Women and independent voters are thought to have handed Mrs Clinton her victory, voting for her in greater numbers than they did in Iowa.

An elated Mrs Clinton told her supporters that she had listened to people in the state and in the process found her own voice.

John Edwards came third, and his loss has diminished his chance for the nomination. Still, the result leaves leaves the Democratic race wide open again.

In the Republican race, John McCain cemented his slender lead in the polls by beating his higher-spending rival, Mitt Romney, into second place.

Mr McCain's candidacy was all but written off last summer, and he styled this win as his comeback.

Mike Huckabee's Iowa win has not improved his poll numbers here, where his came third, but he was never expected to do well.

As in other early primary states, Rudy Giuliani did not spend much money in New Hampshire, and diverted funds from the Granite State to shore up his declining support in Florida.