The first polls in New Hampshire are closed as Granite State voters make pivotal choices in their first-in-the-nation primary.
Former President Donald Trump is hoping to have another landslide victory after his 30-point victory last Monday in the Iowa caucuses.
His former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley is the only rival standing after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dramatically dropped out of the race Sunday.
She’s keeping her fingers crossed for an upset, or a close second, in a state that’s filled with independent-minded voters, who often choose a different candidate than the Iowa caucus winner.
DailyMail.com’s final New Hampshire poll had Trump 20 points ahead of Haley – garnering the support of 57 percent of potential GOP voters compared to 37 percent.
Former President Donald Trump surprised supporters Tuesday by showing up to a polling place in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Trump is hoping that a big victory in the Granite State will push his final rival, Nikki Haley, out
Former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley (left) greets supporters alongside New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu at a polling place in Bedford, New Hampshire
Nikki Haley’s future in the White House race is hanging by a thread with the final DailyMail.com New Hampshire poll showing Donald Trump 20 points ahead going into the primary
On Tuesday, Trump and Haley – with armies of surrogates and volunteers – blanketed the state with the ex-president making a surprise stop at a polling place in Londonderry.
‘I’m very confident,’ Trump said, adding that he ‘doesn’t care‘ if Haley stays in. ‘Let her do whatever she wants, it doesn’t matter,’ the ex-president said, saying he predicted a ‘big loss’ for the former South Carolina governor.
Haley, who banished DailyMail.com from covering her events in New Hampshire after reporting on her alleged affairs, visited a polling place in Hampton with New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and failed 2022 GOP Senate candidate Don Bolduc at her side.
The former U.N. ambassador got some good news early Tuesday morning, as all six New Hampshire voters who voted in the far-north town of Dixville Notch selected her as their candidate of choice.
‘It’s amazing to get the first six votes,’ she told reporters outside Winnacunnet High School. ‘It gave us some good energy and momentum.’
The first exit polls to be released also appeared favorable terrain for Haley, who is banking on the support of independents and moderates to close the gap with Trump – who was leading by double digits in the final New Hampshire polls.
NBC’s exit polls found that among those voting in Tuesday’s Republican primary a minority – 47 percent – identified as Republicans, while 45 percent said they were independents and 8 percent said they were Democrats.
Trump complained about Democrats infiltrating the New Hampshire primary to support Haley, though voters who chose to do this had an October deadline to switch parties.
New Hampshire voters in Francestown cast their ballots in the first-in-the-nation primary Tuesday. Republican voters will choose between former President Donald Trump or his former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley
Former President Donald Trump (right) greets a young supporter at a surprise stop Tuesday at a Londonderry polling place. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (left) stood alongside the former president
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley hugs a supporter Tuesday outside Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, New Hampshire
In 2016, the last time there was a competitive GOP primary, the Republican primary make-up consisted of 55 percent Republican, 42 percent independent and 3 percent Democratic.
Trump won the New Hampshire primary that year.
Turnout Tuesday appeared to be high as the weather was much improved from the Iowa caucuses, which took place in sub-zero temperatures and after two blizzards, eight days before.
Temperatures remained in the mid to high 30s throughout the day, with Manchester receiving flurries as the sun set.
Voting across the state appeared to be happening without any major glitches, according to Secretary of State spokesperson Anna Sventek.
Assistant Attorney General Brendan O’Donnell, head of the department’s Election Law Unit, agreed, saying it was a ‘great morning’ with ‘no major issues’.
O’Donnell said his office was dealing with ‘typical complaints’ from some voters who were affiliated with one party and wanted to vote in the other party’s primary.
Such complaints come in every year, he said.
New Hampshire’s Democratic voters had the option to write-in the name of President Joe Biden, who didn’t appear on the ballot, or pick one of the president’s challengers – Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips or self-help guru Marianne Williamson.
In a Biden-endorsed move, the Democratic National Committee reordered the Democratic primaries, having South Carolinians go first, but the New Hampshire law and the state’s Republican leadership wouldn’t allow the early primary date to be moved.