Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has won the New Hampshire primary, Fox News projects, catapulting the 78-year-old self-described democratic socialist to the front of the still-crowded Democratic presidential primary field.

Sanders had been leading top rival Pete Buttigieg and several other candidates as results came in throughout the evening, though only by a fraction of his 22-point margin of victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 New Hampshire primary. Buttigieg, meanwhile, touted his strong second-place finish as a sign that his campaign was "here to stay."

Sen. Bernie Sanders emerged as the winner in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary Tuesday, but former mayor Pete Buttigieg trailed closely behind. Sen. Amy Klobuchar finished third.

“Thank you, New Hampshire,” Sanders told supporters. “Let me take this opportunity to thank the people of New Hampshire for a great victory tonight.”

But Sanders' narrow victory leaves the Democratic field unsettled with no clear frontrunner.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) claimed unchallenged control of the Democratic Party's left wing with a victory in the New Hampshire presidential primary Tuesday as two moderates, Pete Butti­gieg and a newly surging Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), vied for the opposition mantle in a campaign that has been remade over the past eight days.

Sanders and Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Ind., marked their second straight strong showings — they essentially tied in last week's Iowa caucuses, with Sanders carrying the popular vote and Buttigieg winning a slight edge in delegates.