By Tina Cassidy, Globe Staff, Globe Correspondent, 2/2/2000

ANCHESTER, N.H. - There were only two things John McCain and Bill Bradley had in common yesterday: Insurgent campaign messages and a tremendous amount of support from independent voters, whose numbers altered the outcome of the nation's first primary.

NEW HAMPSHIRE RESULTS Republican 98% of precincts reporting McCain 49% Bush 31% Forbes 13% Keyes 6% Bauer 1% Democrats 98% of precincts reporting Gore 52% Bradley 47% Percentages will not necessarily add to 100. FROM THE GLOBE Democrats fight to a close finish Independents turn GOP contest Contrarians speak up, leaders get wake up call Arizona senator has found strength in his weaknesses Independent voters say character was key to decision Why they voted the way they did Result no setback for Bush backer Cellucci Primary shows off NBC synergy Independents seen taking up the insurgents' fight Bauer, Keyes unbowed as they vow to soldier on Forbes hopes to make it a three-way race Bush campaign says it's ready to move on In Granite State diner, a final helping of politics First primary settled, campaigns mull new tactics On campaign trail, it's a frantic pace Vow of tenacity keeps Bradley's spirits high, focus keen For vice president's campaign, no letup in asking for votes NECN VIDEO Forbes praises McCain win, asks for more support Keyes will stay in race, despite big N.H. loss Gore wins the Democratic N.H. primary over Bradley Bradley greets voters at polls Will Bradley triumph? Turnout heavy in Granite State Can McCain pull off a victory? Gore makes a last minute effort These video clips are viewed using RealPlayer. Get RealPlayer | Help EARLIER COVERAGE Gore wins close race among Democrats McCain savors big win over Bush in GOP race True to tradition, N.H. tests front-runners McCain impressed voters as straight shooter GOP voters happier with candidates than in '96 Independents say character was key to vote Granite State voters have their say N.H. Secretary of State again predicts high turnout Keys to reading the New Hampshire returns Bradley, McCain win Dixville Notch, Hart's Location

By a ratio of 3 to 1, according to exit polls conducted yesterday, independents chose McCain over rival George W. Bush. And they went nearly 3 to 2 in choosing Bradley, the former Democratic senator from New Jersey, over Vice President Al Gore.

Peter Cooke of Manchester was one of those independents for Bradley. ''I'm voting for Bradley because I like his ideas about health care and the racial divide,'' he said. ''He's also very strong characterwise.''

Another Manchester independent, Judy Vitale, voted for ''the man, not the party,'' and that was McCain. ''I was a George Bush person from the beginning, but I realized I was voting for his father and not for him,'' she said. ''I realized he had nothing specific to say about any issue and McCain did.''

Linda L. Fowler, a Dartmouth College government professor, said what happened in New Hampshire could be portentous, if independents across the country continue to go to the polls.

''Independents are a growing bloc of voters nationwide. It isn't just in New Hampshire,'' Fowler said. ''If either one of them got the nomination it would certainly be an advantage in the general election to be able to inspire this kind of turnout among people who tend not to show up.''

In exit polls conducted by Voter News Service, a consortium of the Associated Press and television networks ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, and NBC, voters said they liked McCain's message of campaign finance reform, shoring up Social Security, and keeping the Internet free of taxation. However, in addition to conservative voters, McCain also won over moderates and even liberals.

Bradley's recent disclosure of a heart condition did not bother those who supported him, the exit polls showed, although those backing Gore overwhelmingly said his atrial fibrillation was a factor.

Nearly half of those who voted for McCain said they decided to support him over the last year, a sign that his grass-roots campaigning and 114 town hall meetings paid off throughout the state.

By contrast, most of Bush's voters came to their choice more recently, specifically since his landslide win in the Iowa caucuses last week, after which he spent $418,280 on television ads in New Hampshire.

Bush's supporters were largely Republican loyalists - including many who supported Bob Dole in 1996 - and some of the religious right.

Abortion was clearly an issue for Republicans yesterday. Those who are against it leaned toward Bush, while McCain voters held a range of beliefs on the subject, perhaps reflecting the senator's own varied responses during the final days of the campaign here to the question of a woman's right to choose.

Tax cuts were also a deciding factor, but mostly for Bush supporters, 39 percent of whom said that should top the next president's agenda.

''I don't think an enormous tax cut is a priority,'' Robert Troendle, a Wolfboro optometrist, said last week. ''They [candidates] don't understand us. Not to sound corny, but it's honesty in government.''

When asked which candidate says ''what he believes,'' only 17 percent named Bush, while 50 percent named McCain.

Not surprisingly, veterans turned out for McCain, a Vietnam prisoner of war whose best-selling book, ''Faith of My Fathers,'' focuses on his family's military tradition.

About 75 percent of voters told exit pollers that they viewed McCain favorably, while about 57 percent of voters had a favorable opinion of Bush. Few said it mattered that he was the son of a former president.

On the Democratic side, while independent voters also chose Bradley, Gore received nearly 60 percent of his party's registrants and much union support.

Bradley also did better among liberals, who were not turned off by his $65 billion health-care proposal. And 98 percent of Bradley supporters said he could beat a Republican in the general election; 79 percent of Gore backers felt their candidate could survive in November.

The Gore campaign had been the underdog in New Hampshire since September, when polls began showing the vice president trailing Bradley, who outspent his rival by more than $1 million here.

Exit polls showed voters split on whether Gore's ties to the Clinton administration were a factor. And, although many political analysts thought having Gore sit behind the president during last week's State of the Union address would hurt the candidate, voters said it helped seal their support for him.

Globe correspondent Jennifer Dillon contributed to this report.