Arizona Sen. John McCain has handed Texas Gov. George W. Bush his first major setback in the race for the GOP nomination, and some local activists were as stunned by the New Hampshire primary’s results as the rest of the nation.

McCain grabbed 49 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s primary, while Bush had 30 percent. Also, Vice President Al Gore received 52 percent of the vote, narrowly beating former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley in the Democratic race.

Garrett Toay, chairman of Students for Bush, said he was surprised that Bush lost to McCain by such a large margin.

“I expected it to be a few points difference, but I was surprised that it was that much of the lead,” said Toay, senior in agricultural business. “I still believe that Bush has the organization and the support of the party to make his way to the nomination.”

Toay said New Hampshire is different because it allows people to vote without declaring a party. Many independents came out to the polls in support of McCain, and Toay believes that may have made the difference.

Steffen Schmidt, professor in political science, said he was interested in this new development.

“I was really surprised at the strong showing for McCain. Bush needs to make sure that he doesn’t let McCain get ahead again if he wants to show he is the better man for the Republican Party,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt also said that in the Democratic race, Bradley performed better than expected.

Sarah Leonard, member of Cyclones for Gore and former Gore intern, said despite the fact that Gore’s win over Bradley was a squeaker, it was still an important win.

“He won by five points, which is a substantial win for him. He still has some work to do,” Leonard said.

Leonard said Gore is up at least 30 points in the polls nationwide, and he is leading in the California polls.

John Klein, member of Students for Bradley, said he was a disappointed by Bradley’s turnout in the New Hampshire primary.

“I had wished for better turnout, but unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way. It was relatively close, but it could have been closer. It is increasingly beginning to look like a long shot for him,” Klein said.

Klein said he is glad that Bradley is staying in the race, even though he’s now significantly behind Gore.

“Even if he doesn’t get the nomination, he has been getting a large chunk of the votes, and because of that, Gore will have to adopt a large part of his policy to appeal to the people that voted for Bradley if he wants to win the presidency,” Klein said.