Of the top three Democratic contenders, John Edwards, who finished second in Iowa, beating out Clinton 30 percent to 29 percent, appears to face the toughest challenge in New Hampshire, with polls showing him running behind Clinton and lacking the momentum of an Iowa win. If Obama wins in New Hampshire as well as Iowa, it would be much more difficult Clinton to catch up.
The Republican picture is more complicated. Romney has poured most of his energy into Iowa and New Hampshire and needs to win in New Hampshire to stay near the top. Sen. John McCain is depending on taking New Hampshire, a state he claimed in the 2000 primary.
The national Republican frontrunner, former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, is hoping he can buck history and cruise to later victories - especially in big states, including California, New York and Illinois, which moved their primaries up to Feb. 5 - to claim the nomination. Fred Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, is looking to the South.
Their strategies may backfire as attention focuses on the winners of the first two states.
"There's so little time after Iowa and New Hampshire for voters to take a second look," says Linda Fowler, a government professor at Dartmouth College. "It's ironic because what other states have done in order to minimize the influence of Iowa and New Hampshire is to compress the calendar. In doing that, they made these two states even more important." Voters will make their choice amid a radically new political landscape from eight years ago. Trouble spots are mushrooming, a fact underlined by the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. North Korea and Iran also pose potential dangers to U.S. security.
Clinton argues that she has the best resume for the job. Obama says he can bring people together and has the right judgment on issues such as the Iraq war, which he opposed from the start. Edwards says he won't bend to special interests.
Republican candidates such as Huckabee and Romney highlight their experience. Giuliani stresses his handling of the Sept. 11 attacks and fiscal record as mayor. McCain touts his Senate accomplishments, and Thompson draws on his life outside politics, including as an actor.
Political analysts from both parties agree that change was something that voters in Iowa from both parties seemed to be looking for. The challenge for the leading contenders remaining in the race is to offer a compelling personal vision of change to a growing number of independent voters in New Hampshire and beyond.
