WASHINGTON, Jan 9: The second vote for the US presidential nomination 2008 brought victories for Hillary Clinton and John McCain but left the race for the world’s most powerful office wide open.

Among the Democrats, Senator Clinton won the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday with 39 per cent of the votes compared to 37 per cent for her nearest rival Barack Obama. John Edwards, a former North Carolina senator received only 17 per cent votes.

The first caucus in Iowa on Jan 3 gave Senator Obama a comfortable 9-point lead over Senator Clinton. He received 38 per cent of votes compared to 30 per cent for Mr Edwards and 29 for Mrs Clinton, who was relegated to the third position.

On the Republican side, Senator McCain, a 71-year old Vietnam veteran, handily won the New Hampshire primary with 37 per cent votes. He was an early Republican frontrunner but his campaign imploded last summer, forcing political commentators to write him off.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, once seen as a favourite to take neighbouring New Hampshire, came in second with 28 per cent. Mike Huckabee, who took a surprising first-place in Iowa, finished with 12 per cent of the vote. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani finished with 9 per cent.

Tuesday night’s victories in New Hampshire brought four candidates to the centre-stage — senators Clinton and Obama from the Democratic Camp and Mr McCain and Mr Huckabee from the Republican camp.

Traditionally, Iowa and New Hampshire set the tone for the campaign but this year’s results have left the race wide open.