KEY POINTS:
The US presidential candidates who survived Iowa touched down in their chartered jets in New Hampshire yesterday, contemplating a very different state, a changed political landscape and a whole new set of rules for Tuesday's primaries.
On the Republican side, New Hampshire is Senator John McCain's turf. He already leads in the polls there and well remembers the stunning 19-point defeat he handed to George W. Bush in 2000 in the New England state.
Rather than the religious Mid-Western conservatives of Iowa, New Hampshire is known for its thrifty Yankees, who could be suspicious of Mike Huckabee, who raised taxes while Arkansas Governor.
Mitt Romney has name recognition from his time as Governor of neighbouring Massachusetts. On the Democrat side, Barack Obama was neck and neck with Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire before his Iowa win.
John Edwards, who edged in second in Iowa, lags a distant third, and most Democratic strategists view him as a dead man walking there.
The Democratic field is down to just four candidates, with Bill Richardson making up the numbers after Chris Dodd and Joe Biden dropped out after scoring less than 1 per cent in Iowa.
On the Republican side, Iowa did not perform its traditional role of winnowing the field. Rudy Giuliani, just clinging to his national front-runner status, remains hopeful that he can come storming through in the later states. He, McCain, Huckabee and Romney all have a chance of winning the nomination as has the anti-war libertarian Ron Paul.
More people will go to the polls in New Hampshire than did in Iowa, a point not lost on Clinton, who aimed some sharp criticisms at the system in Iowa, which does not allow absentee votes. "This is a new day, this is a new state, this is a primary election," she said in Manchester, New Hampshire.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
Iowa is the first preliminary - all 50 US states will choose their preferred candidate, a vote in which registered party members plump for their particular choice. The decisive vote will be on February 5, "Super Duper Tuesday", when 24 states, including New York and California, hold their primaries. Delegates from each state then take their primaries results to their respective national party conventions in August, where the Democrat and Republican candidates for the presidency are chosen. Then starts the electioneering for the 44th US president, with the election to be held on November 4.
MAIN CONTENDERS
DEMOCRATS
1. Barack Obama, senator from
Illinois
2. Hillary Clinton, senator from
New York and former First
Lady
3. John Edwards, former senator
from North Carolina
4. Bill Richardson, Governor of
New Mexico
REPUBLICANS
1. Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York
2. Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas
3. Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachussetts
4. Fred Thompson, former senator from Tennessee
5. Ron Paul, US rep, Texas
TIMELINE
Both parties unless stated:
* January 8: New Hampshire primaries
* January 15: Michigan primary (R)
* January 19: Nevada caucus (D), South Carolina primary (R)
* January 26: South Carolina caucus (D)
* January 29: Florida primaries
* February 5: "Super Duper Tuesday" when 24 states hold primaries or caucuses. Alabama, Alaska (D), Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho (D), Illinois, Kansas (D), Massachussetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana (R), New Jersey, New Mexico (D), New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia (R).
