CONCORD, N.H. -- Hard-fought races in both parties and voter-friendly weather produced a record New Hampshire presidential primary turnout, Secretary of State William Gardner said today.

"We're still counting and won't be done until later, but it will be a record for any presidential primary," the state's top election official said.

On Tuesday, Gardner had predicted that 351,000 of New Hampshire's 738,000 voters would cast ballots.

Gardner had said he expected 40,000 people to register and vote Tuesday, compared with the 26,000 new registrations produced by the 1996 primary.

The highest previous number of voters to turn out for the primary was 348,000 in 1992, he said. The 1996 primary drew 303,000.