Arizona Senator John McCain has won the New Hampshire Republican primary.
This is a huge boost in his bid for the presidential nomination just months after his campaign was being written off as a lost cause.
On the Democrat side, Hillary Clinton moved out into a surprising lead over Barack Obama as votes were still being tallied.
John McCain rode a wave of support from independent voters to defeat former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney.
It was a bitter blow for Romney, who spent millions of own dollars in the hopes of winning last week's Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.
Romney finished second in both, but he was still humble in defeat as he congratulated McCain on his victory.
Mitt Romney, Republican Presidential Candidate, said, "But tonight congratulations go to Senator John McCain for running a first last race. Let's give him a round of applause."
McCain's victory has made him one of the leading candidates as the race now heads into an intense month of campaigning that culminates in the so-called Super Tuesday contests on February 5th, when 22 states pick presidential candidates.
On the Democratic side, results showed a tight race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as the polls closed, with John Edwards expected place third.
Once seen as a formidable candidate, the former first lady appeared all but swamped by Obama and his powerful message of change, as voting in New Hampshire began.
Advisers had said that after the former first lady's third place showing in Iowa last week, there simply wasn't time to turn things around in New Hampshire - whose primary came just five days later.
Instead, they were pinning their hopes on a multi-state primary early February, which they hoped would provide enough time to peel away Obama's lead.
But with just over 50 percent of the votes counted so far, Clinton has a narrow lead over Obama, and the battle to edge ahead as the Democratic's front-runner is still wide open.
