McCain: "We Showed Them a Comeback"
NASHUA, N.H. -- John McCain pulled it off. After stumbling in July, undergoing a massive reorganization of his campaign, operating with minimal funds and being practically written off by many, he won New Hampshire's Republican primary.
McCain addressed supporters tonight thanking them for their support saying, "We showed them a comeback."
McCain campaign adviser Steve Duprey added, "This is a great win. It's a historic win. To come from this far down, to win by this large of a margin, to be outspent like we were, to have all the negative campaigning from somebody who lives in this state part time. It was a historic win."
Mitt Romney's campaign said tonight they were essentially running against an incumbent in McCain. Steve Duprey responded, "Well you can spin all day long but no governor who has ever run in New Hampshire from Massachusetts has ever lost. This was a huge loss," Duprey said.
"We weren't the incumbent here. He was the 'Comeback Kid.' There's never been a comeback of this proportion. But that's all Governor Romney talking about process. What really counts is John McCain took his message to the people. The people trust his character. They know that he is ready to lead this country like no other candidate. That's what carried the day."
McCain moves on to the next contest in Michigan and a New Hampshire win can only help with finances that have been lacking.
"It's an unbelievable boost to this campaign to win this important a contest ... when a lot of pundits had given John McCain's candidacy up for dead. It's a huge boost," Duprey told CBS News. "You can't replicate the support we'll now get and I think this will propel him all the way to the -with a lot more hard work - all the way to the nomination and then to the presidency."
McCain's daughter said, "We are so excited!" "
"Six months ago nobody thought this would happen. It's amazing. I just want to thank everyone and really it's an indescribable feeling," she told CBS News.
She added her parents and everyone else on the campaign was pumped up. I asked her if she had words for those who had written McCain's candidacy off. "No, I just want to thank everyone who never stopped believing," she said.