Senator John McCain has won a stunning victory over Governor George W. Bush of Texas in the New Hampshire primary election and punctured the aura of invincibility which surrounded Mr Bush's well-financed campaign for the White House.
Exit polls showed the maverick senator from Arizona easily defeating Mr Bush by capturing two-thirds of the independent or non-committed voters who are a majority in this state. But more dismaying for Mr Bush was Mr McCain's majority among registered Republicans, who, it was assumed, would choose the son of the former president as representing the Republican establishment.
The Vice-President, Mr Al Gore, narrowly defeated the former New Jersey senator, Mr Bill Bradley, by 52 per cent to 48 per cent, according to exit polls. Mr Gore trounced Mr Bradley by two-to-one in the Iowa caucuses last week but the New Hampshire primary is seen as a much more significant test for the two men.
Mr McCain called his showing "remarkable". "I never expected anything like this. It has got to give us momentum."
It is much too soon to write off Mr Bush, who has a huge war chest for his campaign to win the Republican nomination. Mr McCain poured most of his resources into the New Hampshire campaign while Mr Bush has been running a more broadly-based campaign.
Conceding defeat last night, Mr Bush said: "The road to the Republican nomination is a long road. Mine will go through all 50 states and I intend for it to end at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (the address of the White House)."
Observers recall that in 1996, outsider Mr Pat Buchanan defeated Senator Bob Dole in New Hampshire but the latter went on to win the Republican nomination easily in the succeeding primaries. However, no Republican candidate who has lost New Hampshire has ever won the presidency.
Attention will now switch to the Republican primary in South Carolina on February 19th where Mr Bush has had a big lead in the opinion polls.