MANCHESTER, NH--From the White Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, a new wave of conservatism swept through New Hampshire last night as conservative commentator Patrick J. Buchanan scored a major upset and won the nation's first primary.

With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Buchanan captured 27 percent of the vote, edging U.S. Sen. Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.), who won 26 percent, and former Tennessee governor Lamar Alexander, who tallied 23 percent.

Last night, Buchanan was jubilant as he declared victory in front of hundreds of supporters at the Courtyard Banquet Hall in southern Manchester.

"This is a victory for a brand new, bold conservatism in politics, giving a voice to the voiceless," said Buchanan. "It is a conservatism that looks out for the men and women of this country whose jobs have been sacrificed."

Though Buchanan was written off early in the campaign as an extremist, his populist campaign strategy coupled with his fiery oratory propelled him to victory and sent opponents scrambling for answers.

"We have conducted a three-week political campaign that will go down as legend," Buchanan said. "We're going to recapture the sovereignty of our country."

In just three short weeks, Buchanan convinced New Hampshire's working class that the United States was losing too many jobs in the name of free trade.

"[Buchanan] was against NAFTA and believes that our borders should be protected--if need be by the military," said retired Master Sergeant Lionel L. Leblanc, a 30-year veteran of the US Air Force.

Leblanc, who celebrated Buchanan's second-place finish in the 1992 New Hampshire primary in the same building as Buchanan, added that he supports Buchanan's proposed stricter enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.

Buchanan took advantage of every opportunity he had to portray himself as someone who would stand up for common citizens who feel powerless against the federal bureaucracy.

"We're going to go to Washington and be the lobbyists for the people who don't have lobbyists in Washington," Buchanan said.

Dover, N.H. resident Roger W. Hatch called last night's stunning victory a "rejection of the old order and corrupt Republican politics."

"Buchanan is the second founder of our country," Hatch said.

Republican party officials down-played Buchanan's upset in this conservative state, predicting that a mainstream conservative like Dole or Alexander will eventually capture the GOP nomination.

Granite State voters were simply supplying the rest of the country with the three candidates that should be studied more closely as the campaign moves on to next week's events in the South Carolina and the Dakotas, observers said.