by Lee Hill

Checking-in again...

The polls have now been closed for about two hours in New Hampshire, with more than half of the precincts reporting. As we reported earlier, Republican Sen. John McCain is the projected winner in the state's Republican primary. Things, however, don't seem quite as certain on the Democratic side — poll numbers for Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois are too close to call. John Edwards appears to be holding steady in third place.

Already, we do know this election represents a record turnout for voters in New Hampshire. The projection is that 48 percent of the state's voting-age residents participated in today's primary elections, compared to 42 percent in 2004.

I'm here with another one of our producers, Beneva Schulte. We like to think of Beneva as the resident go-to person for all things political at Tell Me More. Before coming to NPR, she spent about 15 years in politics, 10 of those years on Capitol Hill. You might remember Beneva from the editorial position she took (which put her in "friendly" opposition with Michel) with our December interview with Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE).

Here's Beneva with her anaylsis on tonight's results, so far:

It's an early, but not too surprising, win for Sen. John McCain in New Hampshire. But there's a much closer race between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama that no one was really expecting, considering the recent polls showing Obama with an almost double-digit lead. ... For Republicans, the McCain win could mean a more protracted battle for the nomination. From New Hampshire, they go to Michigan, where Mitt Romney is hoping to win his first "gold" (his Dad was the governor there), and then to South Carolina, where Huckabee is hoping to shine once again (being from the South and all). And then, to Florida, where Giuliani is hoping to begin his ascendancy. All that to say, this is a historic election folks. We could go into Super Tuesday with three or four potential front runners on the Republican side. As for the Democrats, the only thing we know for sure right now is Sen. John Edwards looks like he will be third. Clinton and Obama are neck and neck and it could go either way. If Obama wins, but its close (just a few points), expect the Clinton campaign to share the Comeback Kid mantle with the McCains.

Thanks, Beneva.

ELECTION UPDATE: John Edwards concedes in New Hampshire.

Back in a little bit...