Voting begins in crucial US primary ballots

Voters in New Hampshire began the first presidential primary ballot today with Barack Obama apparently poised to give Hillary Clinton a second, and possibly devastating, defeat in less than a week.

On the Republican side, John McCain and Mitt Romney were head to head in a race that could sink the presidential aspirations of one of them.

Wins in such early contests as the New Hampshire primary and last week's caucuses in Iowa are crucial in building momentum as candidates compete state-by-state to become their party's choice for presidential candidate.

Ms Clinton, who is hoping to become America's first female president, has been running second for the Democrats in the New Hampshire opinion polls, with former Senator John Edwards third.

The former first lady and her aides seemed to be bracing for another setback following Mr Obama's win in Iowa last week.

The polls indicated Mr Obama had pulled ahead of Ms Clinton as she fought to write a "comeback kid" story to rival that of her husband, Bill, in 1992.

The difference is that his second-place finish in New Hampshire sparked his revival. As the national favourite until she finished third in Iowa, Hillary Clinton needs a win to get her equilibrium back.

Paradoxically, the struggle for primacy in the Democratic and Republican campaigns is largely in the hands of independents who make up a large share of the voters in New Hampshire, and who by definition are not loyal to either party.

That was an opportunity for Mr McCain, a Republican non-conformist who won New Hampshire against establishment pick George Bush in 2000, and for Mr Obama, pressing hard to build a constituency broader than his party. It also was a complication because they were dipping into the same non-aligned pool.

In a northern New Hampshire hamlet tradition, voters of Dixville Notch and Hart's Location cast the first 46 ballots of the primary season at midnight, hours before the main polls opened across the state at 6am. Polls close at 8pm (1pm Irish time).

Combined results from the two spots showed Mr Obama with 16 votes, Ms Clinton 3, John Edwards 3 and Bill Richardson 1. On the Republican side, Mr McCain received 10 votes, Mike Huckabee 5, Ron Paul 4, Romney 3 and Rudy Giuliani 1.

By 7am, three of the Republican candidates had already showed up at a church in Manchester that is the site of one of the largest polling places in the city. When Mr Huckabee and Mr Giuliani passed each other outside, Mr Huckabee jokingly asked the former New York mayor for his vote.

"We started below the bottom. For us to come in the top four would be a win for us," Mr Huckabee, a Baptist preacher-turned-politician who just months ago was a virtual unknown, told reporters.

Moments later a third Republican contender, Mr Romney, arrived at the site and declared: "The Republicans will vote for me. The independents will get behind me."

He had banked on victories in Iowa and New Hampshire to propel his campaign forward, but was defeated last week in Iowa by Mr Huckabee, who swept past him with an underfunded campaign. Now Mr Romney faces a strong challenge from a resurgent Mr McCain in New Hampshire.

Casting himself as the Republican best able to hold the White House, Mr Romney said: "My record of bringing change is going to post up very well against Barack Obama."