Donald Trump is eyeing victory in New Hampshire’s Republican primary in his first head-to-head matchup against Nikki Haley, while President Joe Biden hopes to avoid embarrassment by prevailing in a Democratic primary where he isn’t even on the ballot .
The former president is looking for his second straight win in his quest for the 2024 GOP nomination after edging out the rest of the field with an impressive win in Iowa. Haley, meanwhile, is trying to leverage her strength among independent and anti-Trump voters who are eager to have a new voice to lead the party.
On the Democratic side, Biden supporters have mounted a write-in campaign on his behalf to avoid losing even though the contest does not award delegates because it violates the national party rules he insisted on.
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HAMPTON, NH – Haley is vowing to stay in the race even if Trump wins the Republican Party’s first primary in New Hampshire.
The former U.N. ambassador has deployed significant resources in New Hampshire, hoping to capitalize on the state’s independence while anticipating a disruption, or at least a major loss, that would end Trump’s continued dominance of Republican politics can affect.
“I’m running against Donald Trump, and I’m not going to talk about an obituary,” Haley told reporters at a polling place in Hampton.
Regardless of how things go in New Hampshire, she says, she plans to enter the race for the South Carolina primary on Feb. 24.
“This has always been a marathon. It has never been a sprint,” she said.
HAMPTON, NH – Pat Sheridan, a Republican from Hampton, said he voted for Trump “because he did a really good job the first time.”
“We need a businessman, not bureaucrats,” said Sheridan, a 63-year-old engineer.
He said the most important issue for him was the economy. “Everything is just really bad right now,” he said.
If Trump returns to the White House, Sheridan hopes he will be more careful in choosing his Cabinet members and bring in better advisers.
“I think he listened to a lot of people he shouldn’t have listened to,” he said.
HAMPTON, NH – Independent voter Betsey Davis, an 81-year-old who described herself as “old,” said she voted for Dean Phillips in the Democratic primary.
Davis, who supports abortion rights and the “freedom to be,” said she would vote for Biden if he faced Trump again in the general election, but she is not enthusiastic about it.
“I think he’s too old,” she said, noting that they were the same age. “He may be a nice guy, but nice doesn’t really count in politics.”
Asked what Biden would have to do to earn her enthusiastic vote in November, she said: “I would like him to be stronger, much stronger. I would like him to be able to bring both parties together.”
HAMPTON, NH – Laurie Dufour was surprised to see Haley, her favorite candidate, show up at her polling place Tuesday morning.
Dufour, 66, said she is an independent who tends to vote Democratic but likes Haley.
“I didn’t want Trump, and she just sounded very knowledgeable,” she said. However, she noted that she supports the right to abortion and therefore “almost didn’t vote for her.”
Dufour said she would vote for Biden over Trump in the general election “in a heartbeat” but wished he would consider resigning.
‘Most of the time I think he’s too old. It’s sad – when I look at him I could cry. It’s like looking at your grandfather, you know?” Dufour said. “I think it’s time for him to let go.”
HAMPTON, NH – Haley says her visit to tiny Dixville Notch is a good start that gives her campaign momentum heading into the day.
“Right now, we’re taking whatever we can take,” Haley told reporters Tuesday morning during a visit to a polling place in Hampton. She said she was grateful for the six registered voters in the resort town who turned out to vote for her.
Haley also vowed to continue her campaign even if she doesn’t have a good night in the New Hampshire primary.
“We’re going to South Carolina. We have placed the ad purchase. We are there. This has always been a marathon. It has never been a sprint. We wanted to be strong in Iowa. We wanted to be stronger than New Hampshire. We will be even stronger than that in South Carolina,” she said.
Polls are beginning to open across much of New Hampshire as the state’s famously independent electorate makes its choice of 2024 presidential candidates.
In the first results released early Tuesday, all six registered voters of tiny Dixville Notch cast their ballots for Haley over Trump. The resort town is the only one in New Hampshire this year that has chosen to vote at midnight.
The Democratic side, however, is different. The Democratic National Committee revamped the voting calendar to put South Carolina first, but New Hampshire Democrats defied the new order and opted to hold their primaries on Tuesday as well. As a result, Biden’s name is not on the ballot, but his allies are mounting a write-in campaign for him.