By Andrea Asuaje
BU News Service
CONCORD, N.H. — The polls were right.
On Tuesday night, Bernie Sanders was declared the winner of the New Hampshire primary over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who conceded to the 74-year-old U.S. Senator from Vermont around 9 p.m.
Sanders celebrated his win at Concord High School in Concord, New Hampshire., with about 900 of his supporters who chanted: “We don’t need no super PAC! Bernie Sanders’ got our back!” and “This is what democracy looks like!” They boogied to David Bowie and “Disco Inferno,” in which the iconic lyrics were sung by his supporters as, “Bern, baby, Bern.”
Experts and polls leading up to Tuesday, including Real Clear Politics, CNN and FiveThirtyEight, predicted Sanders to have a solid win in the Granite State.
Real Clear Politics’ final poll aggregation shows that Sanders received about 61 percent of votes cast on Tuesday, earning him 13 delegates. Clinton received about 39 percent of votes, which earned her seven delegates.
Sanders took the stage on Tuesday night to a crowd of men and women, both young and old, some dancing and some crying, to give thanks to his supporters and his staff, and to reinforce his message of a government that belongs to the people on Main Street, rather than the wealthy and the corporations.
“Americans understand that that is not what democracy is about. That is what oligarchy is about, and we will not allow that to continue,” he said of the current political climate.
He repeated his messages on super PACs — “I do not have a super PAC, and I do not want a super PAC” — and on the average donation sent to his campaign: $27.
According to the Washington Post, berniesanders.com crashed after his victory speech, in which he urged supporters to contribute to his campaign in order to “take the fight” to Nevada, South Carolina and the states that will participate in Super Tuesday.
Sanders said the people of New Hampshire delivered a “profound message” to the rest of the country through its record-breaking turnout — a message of change.
“It’s about having the courage to reject the status quo,” he said.
Cameron Bedard said being at Sanders’ headquarters on Tuesday night was an experience unlike any other, especially since it was his first time voting in any election. He turned 18 in October.
“I voted for [Sanders] this morning, and now I’m at his victory party,” Bedard said.
