The eyes of the world will be on New Hampshire on Tuesday when the second state to vote in the race for the Republican presidential nominee goes to the polls.
With its key position on the election calendar, New Hampshire has a rich history of choosing nominees.
In the past seven competitive Republican elections, five of the winners in New Hampshire won the party’s nomination, including Donald Trump, who prevailed in the 2016 primaries with 35 percent.
Trump also leads in the polls this year but faces an increasing challenge from Nikki Haley, his former ambassador to the United Nations, who is trying to outmaneuver him in a state that values one-on-one contact with presidential candidates . .
Polls will be open from at least 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, but the small town of Dixville Notch and its six residents will vote just after midnight for the first results.
New Hampshire has hosted the nation’s first primary since 1920. In the last seven competitive Republican primaries, five of the winners won the party’s nomination.
The Granite State also prides itself on another quality: its independent streak.
The number of unaffiliated voters, as they are called — those who can vote in the Democratic or Republican primaries — is greater than the number of voters who are committed to either major political party.
“New Hampshire takes their role very seriously. It’s kind of a dream from a political scientist’s perspective, that so many citizens are really involved or going to town hall when it’s freezing and things like that, but they also like to be courted,” Erin O’Brien shared , professor of political science at UMass Boston. NPR.
Things will be tense in the run-up to Tuesday’s vote. Ron DeSantis returned to the state on Friday to make a few quick appearances before heading to South Carolina for the weekend. Trump has several rallies planned.
Haley is storming the state with meetings with voters, including one where DailyMail.com was told it was banned from covering her campaign events after DailyMail.com published a story Friday morning exclusively reporting that Haley falsely denied she was her husband had cheated when she was accused of having two extramarital affairs during her 2010 South Carolina gubernatorial campaign.
Nikki Haley has stepped up her challenge to Donald Trump ahead of Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary
Iowa, the first state to vote in the Republican elections, is holding caucuses. New Hampshire is the first state to hold a primary election.
It has held the country’s first primaries since 1920 and is known for its high voter turnout – ranking third in the country in terms of participation. 72 percent of eligible voters participated in the 2020 presidential election.
On Tuesday, 22 delegates to the Republican National Convention are up for grabs, which will be awarded on a proportional basis.
It’s a small fraction of the 1,215 delegates needed to clinch the Republican nomination, but a win in the state would give Trump his second win – after winning in Iowa – or give Haley a huge boost heading into the next competition, in her home state of South Carolina on February 24.
There will be 24 Republicans on the ballot in New Hampshire, including those who registered before withdrawing from the election: entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Governor Chris Christie, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, Governor of North Dakota’s Doug Burgum and Senator Tim Scott.
THE INDEPENDENT VOTERS
More voters in New Hampshire are identifying themselves as “unaffiliated” – or independent – even though they are Republican or Democrat.
Those “unaffiliated” voters can choose which party they want to vote for, and Haley has been courting that group hard.
A St. Anselm College poll showed Haley winning them over. She led Trump among independent voters in the state from 52 percent to 37 percent.
Voters can also switch memberships if they want to change which contest they are voting in.
Ahead of the primaries, about 3,500 Democrats in New Hampshire switched their party registration to unaffiliated, meaning they can vote in the Republican primary if they wish.
Campaign signs are stuck in the snow in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
A house flies an American flag and a Trump 2024 flag in Atkinson, New Hampshire
Republican presidential candidate, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, is trailing by single digits in the polls in the key state of New Hampshire
CONTROVERSIES
New Hampshire has had to defend its primary status as the first in the nation, especially against accusations of lack of diversity.
According to the 2020 census, the state’s population is 93 percent white. It is only 2 percent black, 4 percent Hispanic and 3 percent Asian.
But officials in the state argue that New Hampshire offers something better: an equal opportunity for every candidate to make their case.
“From our perspective, it’s not about racial diversity. “This is about the little guy, the average American citizen who, when he was in the fourth grade, had a dream of growing up and becoming President of the United States,” New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan said. to NPR.
“And New Hampshire is probably the only state where that can still happen. It is very easy to get on the ballot for the primaries. It is a simple declaration of candidacy and a $1,000 filing fee.”
The state is also small; campaigning in the most populated areas is just a few hours away. Plus, it’s a relatively cheap state to campaign in compared to New York or California.
In fact, New Hampshire law requires that primaries come first.
It states: ‘The presidential primary election shall be held on the second Tuesday in March or on a Tuesday selected by the Secretary of State that is seven days or more immediately preceding the date on which any other state shall hold a similar election, depending what date that is. rather, of any year in which a President of the United States is elected or the year before…’
New Hampshire values one-on-one campaigning, above a photo of the presidential candidates who visited the Robie’s Country store in Hooksett, New Hampshire
Snow blankets New Hampshire ahead of Tuesday’s primaries
What about the Democrats?
Democrats have a problem with the state.
In 2024, the Democratic National Committee, which sets the party’s primary calendar, upended tradition and gave the first contest of the year to South Carolina, the state that helped Joe Biden win the presidential nomination in 2020.
New Hampshire scheduled its primaries first anyway, citing state law, and as a result the DNC declared that none of the delegates elected Tuesday will count.
President Joe Biden campaigned in New Hampshire in 2020 but will not do so this year
Emily Vering, a 20-year-old volunteer, assembles a yard sign in Hooksett, New Hampshire
Biden, in solidarity with the party, is skipping the state and not appearing on the ballot. There is a movement among Democrats to inscribe his name.
In the 2020 Democratic primaries, Biden finished fifth in New Hampshire with just 8 percent of the vote.
POLITICAL TOURISM
The New Hampshire primary has become so famous as a campaign venue that voters from nearby states come to see the candidates.
One attendee apologized to Nikki Haley, saying he was from New York and couldn’t vote for her.
“That’s okay,” Haley told him. “Tell your friends.”
Visitors from other states come to watch the candidates, including this group of students from North Carolina, who were there to see Nikki Haley
At one of Haley’s events on Thursday, a group of students from North Carolina attended to see how the elementary school worked.
“We’re trying to see as many candidates as possible,” Taylor Barbara Dora told DailyMail.com.
It is common to have to ask someone if they can vote in New Hampshire. Voters from Massachusetts and New York attended several events Thursday.
“Nobody does it better than New Hampshire,” said Governor Chris Sununu.