Primary 2024 Live Updates: Trump and Biden win NH primary, inching closer to a general election rematch
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NHPR’s news team will be talking with voters and election officials at polling places across the state throughout the day. Stay tuned here for updates on how the voting process is going and how the results are shaping up after the polls close. We'll also have updates from NPR throughout the day.
Polls are now closed. Here's where to find results.
For searchable town-level maps, visit our election results page.
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That's all from us for tonight.
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Special thanks to the folks at New Hampshire Public Radio and the New England News Collaborative for making tonight's coverage possible!
To learn more about the history of the First in the Nation primary, check out NHPR's Stranglehold podcast, and for all your government and democracy questions, check out NHPR's Civics 101!
Kennedy wasn't on the ballot tonight, but he might be in November
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign says they collected enough signatures today to appear on the general election ballot in New Hampshire.
Kennedy was not on the ballot tonight, given he's registered as an independent candidate, making him unable to appear in either of the state's Republican or Democratic primary contests.
But in order to be on the ballot in the Granite State this fall, a candidate has to collect and submit 3,000 signatures, and Kennedy's team says it secured that number "in just one day."
"Volunteers from across New Hampshire and every state in New England came together to gather voter signatures at nearly 100 precincts from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m.," the statement read.
As of now, Kennedy is on only the general election ballot in Utah.
Third-party candidates have historically been unableto make significant traction in general election matchups. But their presence often skews the vote, taking some support away from the two major party candidates.
Up next: odd Republican voting in Nevada
While Nikki Haley wants to look forward to her home state of South Carolina, the next state on the Republican primary calendar is actually Nevada. But Nevada has some unique qualities that require some unpacking.
There are state-run primaries scheduled for Feb. 6, but the Nevada Republican Party is holding party-run caucuses instead, on Feb. 8. Those caucuses will award Republican delegates.
Haley opted to be on the primary ballot, and since Donald Trump is the only remaining major GOP candidate on the caucus ballot, in essence it means he'll win the state.
Trump did better than Haley with younger voters
Gen Z and millennial voters (those younger than 44) preferred former President Trump over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the New Hampshire Republican primary, according to exit polling.
Among voters under 44 years old, Trump won 57% of the vote, while Haley won 40%.
That said, this age group made up less than a third of the total participants surveyed.
Plus, historically, Gen Z and millennial voters have overwhelmingly sided with Democratic candidates. In 2020, Biden won the same age group by 14 points over Trump, according to 2020 general election exit polling.
Will your vote count if you don't live in a swing state this election?
Welcome to every presidential election ever.
This is a perpetual question. Billions are likely to be spent on half a dozen or more states (namely: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin).
Meanwhile about 1 in 5 Democratic votes come from just New York and California — and what about those voters? This phenomenon, of a split between the popular vote and Electoral College has only gotten more pronounced in recent years given how Americans have re-sorted themselves — Democrats are increasingly moving to cities and rural areas are increasingly Republican.
We have a strange situation of what Democrats see as minority rule in the country, because Democrats have won seven of the last eight popular votes in presidential elections, by wider and wider margins — and yet they have only won the presidency five times in that stretch.
- In 2000, Al Gore won by a few hundred thousand votes, but lost the White House.
- In 2016, Hillary Clinton won by three million votes, but lost the White House.
- In 2020, Joe Biden won by seven million votes and barely won the White House.
As we’ve said before, at its heart, this election is about what it means to be American, which values will win out for the future of what this country will be — and lots of voters, particularly on the left, don’t feel like their votes count as much as others.
Where the GOP primary race goes from here
Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary despite independents making up a significant portion of the voters.
Almost half of the electorate tonight were undeclared voters. Nikki Haley won 6 in 10 of them. But Trump won three-quarters of Republicans.
This was about as friendly an electorate as Haley is going to see in the race for the Republican nomination.
So is that the end of the line? Not according to Haley.
“New Hampshire is first in the nation; it is not last in the nation,” Haley said tonight. “This race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go. And the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina.”
The problem for Haley: South Carolina looks a bit more like Iowa than it does New Hampshire. According to the 2016 exit polls:
- Two-thirds said they were white, evangelical or born-again Christians, higher than in Iowa, and Trump won the most religious voters in both Iowa and New Hampshire;
- 38% said they were “very conservative,” higher than the 25% who said so in New Hampshire; 52% said they were very conservative in Iowa.
- Like in New Hampshire, independents can vote in South Carolina, but in 2016, they only made up about 1 in 5 voters, not half.
And losing her home state would be very difficult for a former governor to explain.
Close isn’t good enough to be the nominee. She’s going to have to win somewhere.
Trump attacks Haley, calls the United States a nation in 'decline'
Republican front-runner Donald Trump used much of his victory speech in New Hampshire to take aim at second-place finisher Nikki Haley, calling her an “imposter” who “claimed a victory” she hadn’t won.
In reality, Haley acknowledged Trump’s victory and congratulated him during her speech to supporters earlier in the evening, before pledging to take the primary fight to her home state of South Carolina, which votes next month.
“Let’s not have somebody take a victory when she had a very bad night,” Trump told supporters gathered in New Hampshire.
The former president also attacked New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who endorsed Haley, calling him “the now very unpopular governor of this state.” (Sununu has enjoyed consistently high favorability ratings.)
In a reminder of how fully he dominates the Republican Party, Trump was joined on the stage by two of his former rivals for the Republican nomination, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who’ve both endorsed him.
Ramaswamy spoke briefly, also attacking Haley for her vow to continue running for the Republican nomination: “What we see right now with her continuing in this race is the ugly underbelly of American politics,” he said, claiming “donors” were propping her up.
“The general election begins tonight, and this man will win it in a landslide,” Ramaswamy said.
Continuing his speech, Trump returned to themes he’s been running on since 2016, painting the United States as a nation in “decline” and calling for increasing border security.
Trump then resurrected another theme: suggesting that political opponents should face criminal consequences for unspecified actions. Were Haley to become president, Trump claimed, “She will be under investigation within minutes, and so would Ron have been.” That was an apparent reference to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the most recent candidate to drop out of the Republican race and throw support to Trump.
Biden campaign reaction to Trump's win: It's general election time
President Biden's campaign has one message out of New Hampshire: former President Donald Trump is likely to be the Republican party's nominee.
“Tonight’s results confirm Donald Trump has all but locked up the GOP nomination, and the election denying, anti-freedom MAGA movement has completed its takeover of the Republican Party," Biden's campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said.
As of 9:21 p.m. ET, Trump had received 53.4% of the vote, trailed by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 45.5%. Haley said Tuesday she's staying in the race.
Biden won the Democratic primary after a successful write-in campaign. There was no mention of the victory in the statement. Instead, Chavez Rodriguez stressed the eventual general matchup.
"While we work toward November 2024, one thing is increasingly clear today: Donald Trump is headed straight into a general election matchup where he’ll face the only person to have ever beaten him at the ballot box: Joe Biden," she said.
Photos: See New Hampshire voters turn out for primary
New Hampshire voters turned out and were met with crowds and lines. Candidates visited polling places to make their final pitches voters. There were over 20 candidates on both the Democratic and Republican ballots.
How election officials are handling those 'unprocessed write-in' votes
Maybe the greatest oddity of tonight’s presidential primary in New Hampshire is the write-in campaign for the sitting president of the United States, Joe Biden.
Due to a dispute over the primary calendar, Biden wasn’t on the ballot in New Hampshire and the national party says the results of tonight’s vote will be “meaningless” for delegate allocation at this summer’s convention. Still, there was a primary and volunteers in the state banded together to write Biden in.
According to the AP, he won.
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But all those “unprocessed write-in” votes (as they’re initially listed in the unofficial results) still need to be counted by voting officials.
The reason they initially came through that way, instead of as votes for the incumbent president or any other candidate, is because the scanners officials use to tabulate votes can’t read write-in candidates. Instead, the machines tabulate the total amount of write-ins in a batch, and then election officials manually sort them based on who was written-in.
Local precinct administrators are instructed to look for voter intent when reading write-in votes, said New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan.
“The moderators know how to do that job,” he said.
Haley: 'We are just getting started'
Speaking to supporters in Concord, N.H., after finishing second to Donald Trump in New Hampshire’s primary, Nikki Haley promised to continue fighting to win the Republican nomination.
“You’ve all heard the chatter among the political class. They’re all falling all over themselves saying this race is over,” she said. “I have news for all of them.”
Noting that New Hampshire is the first state to hold a primary (and second to vote after Iowa’s caucus), Haley said, “This race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go.”
Describing herself as a “fighter,” and “the last one standing next to Donald Trump,” Haley congratulated Trump on his victory.
“He earned it and I want to acknowledge that,” Haley said.
She then went after Trump, repeating an attack from her stump speech about Trump bringing “chaos” to the party and the nation. Haley has repeatedly gone after both Trump and Biden for their age, pitching herself as a younger, more capable alternative to a matchup she says voters don’t want.
Haley alluded to a recent apparent lapse where Trump seemed to confuse her with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“Trump accused me of not providing security at the Capitol on January 6,” Haley said, as supporters laughed and one yelled, “He’s geriatric!”
Haley repeated her call for a mental competency test for politicians over 75, adding, “Trump claims he'd do better than me in one of those tests. Maybe he would; maybe he wouldn’t. But if he thinks that, then he should have no problem standing on a debate stage with me.”
On the stage in New Hampshire, Haley also thanked her husband, children, and parents, as well as New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who endorsed her. Sununu has said he wants the Republican Party to move on from Trump.
Haley’s campaign announced earlier Tuesday that she will campaign Wednesday evening in South Carolina, which holds its Republican primary late next month.
Democratic organizer says fake robocall has not had 'major impact' on turnout
An AI-generated robocall telling Democratic voters not to vote in the New Hampshire primary “does not seem to have had a major impact” on turnout, according to a Democratic organizer whose phone number was used in the fake call.
The call, which went out Sunday, used artificial intelligence to replicate President Biden’s voice, and urged voters not to cast their ballot in the state's presidential primary. The call was crafted to look like it came from Kathy Sullivan, one of the leaders of the campaign to write in President Biden.
The New Hampshire attorney general’s office is investigating the call, and Sullivan told NPR that she is considering filing a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department as well.
“It's important that we find out who's behind this because this stuff is only going to get worse as we approach November,” Sullivan said. “And it's dangerous. It's very dangerous, with this artificial intelligence — what they can do.”
Sullivan said it does not appear the call suppressed turnout on the Democratic side. New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan told NPR earlier that there seemed to be “very, very strong” turnout on the Republican side, adding that some polling stations needed to receive additional Republican ballots.
Biden wins the New Hampshire Democratic primary
President Joe Biden has won the New Hampshire Democratic primary, according to a race call by The Associated Press.
Despite winning, the president’s name was not on the ballot Tuesday.
Instead, Biden’s victory is the result of a successful write-in campaign after state leaders refused to adhere to the Democrats' new primary calendar — which makes South Carolina the first Democratic primary state, rather than New Hampshire.
With 27% of the results in, Biden has technically received just 1% of the vote – as of 8:12 p.m ET — but over 72% of the vote has gone to an "unprocessed write-in" candidate.
Instead of campaigning in New Hampshire tonight, Biden held a rally in Northern Virginia focused on protecting abortion access.
At Haley's NH primary night HQ, reporters can't roam very far
It's fairly standard practice for journalists to mingle throughout the crowds at election night parties during the primary, to interview voters and others in attendance about the state of the race.
But at Nikki Haley's election night headquarters at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord, members of the press aren't allowed access in the main area where supporters are gathering.
NHPR producer Taylor Quimby shared this video of the media setup at the event.
Here's the current view from Haley's party, from NHPR producer @TaylorQuimby1. pic.twitter.com/fcX7a1wFk7
— NH Public Radio (@nhpr) January 24, 2024
Donald Trump wins the New Hampshire Republican primary
Former President Donald Trump has won the New Hampshire GOP primary, according to a race call by The Associated Press.
With 17% of the results in, Trump has received over 54% of the vote — as of 8:02 p.m ET.
Trump’s win tonight comes after a landslide victory last week in the Iowa caucuses, where he received over 50 percent of the vote.
Besides Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley remains the only other major Republican primary contender in the race. She currently holds 45% of the vote — but the AP has yet to call a second-place finisher.
Trump's win follows a series of high-profile endorsements from previous presidential primary opponents — most recently, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Photos: Manchester, Bedford voters
Randall Harris moved from Manchester to Bedford a couple of months ago looking for a better school system for his children. As he walked to his new polling place, he said improving education is at the top of his mind in this primary election. He voted for Marianne Williamson because he feels she has been the most consistent candidate in this electoral cycle.
But Harris is also concerned about democracy and how candidates have been treating each other as if they were in highschool, he said. Harris thinks it should be mandatory for every candidate to debate.
“If you don’t debate I believe that should be an automatic disqualification,” he said.
Outside of Manchester's Beech Street Elementary school this afternoon there were a lot fewer supporters with signs compared to other years, according to local election officials.
Oritha Dalu, who's originally from Liberia, cast her ballot at the school. She said she was confused about the ballots and hoped someone could help her find which party Nikki Haley belonged to.
Dalu said she met Haley last week in a hotel and was impressed by her personality.
“She smiled at me and said,"How are you? How have you been? Where do you come from?” you know, I was so happy for that.”
Dalu said that greeting made the difference and she changed her vote at the last minute.
She said in the last presidential elections she voted for Biden.
Young voters say abortion, climate and economy are top issues
NPR newscaster Lakshmi Singh has been speaking to young voters in New Hampshire ahead of today’s primaries.
The young people Singh spoke to cite abortion, climate policy and economic concerns as some of their top priorities.
One of those voters was Nate Magoon, who identifies as an independent and said protecting abortion rights is his “number one” concern.
“I want to make sure that future generations are able to get access to all the resources they deserve to,” Magoon said.
On the economy, one young voter backing Trump said his bills have increased by 40%. Several left-leaning voters said they are worried about paying off loan debt or being able to afford a house.
Polls closing: Election workers turn to hand count, moose stickers win the day in Keene
Scott Hussey, an election official at Keene's Ward 1, said this afternoon that the moose sticker was far and away the most popular of the three designs. "If the stickers were running for president, the moose stickers would be winning," he said. "The Old Man of the Mountain is a distant third."
Robert Clay stands over a ballot counting machine in Plymouth. He says it’ll still be a while until all the votes are counted. “I expect it to be 10 o’clock or 11 o’clock tonight.”
Secretary of state says signs point to 'very, very strong turnout' in Republican primary
Early signs suggest a “very, very strong turnout” in the New Hampshire Republican primary, the state’s top election official said.
New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan told NPR that the high turnout could slightly delay results, but that he still expects results to be in by the end of the night.
On the Democratic side where President Joe Biden does not appear on the ballot, write-in votes for Biden will need to be separated out and counted by hand in towns that use machine counting.
Biden does not appear on the ballot because the Democratic National Committee decided to start this year’s primary race in South Carolina, instead of New Hampshire, which had traditionally been first in the nation for both parties. The results of tonight’s Democratic primary will not technically “count” — the winner will not be awarded delegates toward the nomination.
Still, Scanlan defended the state’s decision to hold its Democratic primary today in defiance of the DNC. (South Carolina, for example, is holding its Democratic and Republican primaries on different days because of the switch).
“We absolutely did the right thing,” Scanlan said. “This is a 104-year tradition. We have a political culture that is built around that; it has matured over time. Voters of New Hampshire take it seriously. But the reason why New Hampshire is important is it's for the little guy…because it's a small state geographically and population-wise, it's easy to run a campaign here without money and high name recognition.”
Things smooth in Milford, despite post-work rush
Despite an after-work rush, election officials in Milford said everything was running smoothly at the polls.
Moderator Peter Basiliere said poll workers here are used to dealing with crowds. He said the town has one of the state’s largest polling places, with more than 9,600 registered voters as of Tuesday morning.
Basiliere said more than 100 people were volunteering at the town’s polling place – the local high school gym – Tuesday.
“Having a good mix of people with a lot of experience, as well as people who signed up for the first time and this is their first election – I think that helps us to be able to handle a large crowd,” he said.
Around 4,000 people had voted by 5 p.m., about three-quarters of them Republicans.
Jack Carson, a Nashua Community College student who voted in Milford around 6 p.m., said the process was quick and easy.
“I was here for like two minutes, total,” he said.
A registered independent, Carson voted in the Republican primary for Haley this year.
“For this one, I just felt like it was important for Trump not to be the person going in,” he said.
Kristin Pride, a physical therapist in Milford, also went for Haley.
“I just feel that the country’s not in the greatest shape right now, and I feel that it just needs some new direction,” she said.
“I'm looking for somebody with some fresh ideas, and just younger,” she added.
Civics 101 on what is happening with the 2024 election
Primaries, caucuses, conventions, court cases - oh, it's a lot. Hannah and Nick have the most important dates and some crucial context for your calendar this election year. Buckle up, 2024 is already underway.
How well does Nikki Haley need to do in New Hampshire to move forward?
New Hampshire is seen as critical for Nikki Haley’s campaign as she faces a head-to-head race against her former boss, Donald Trump, who’s leading in the polls.
Haley’s campaign released a memo earlier in the day downplaying the importance of her New Hampshire results, looking ahead to Super Tuesday, and promising that while “many of the weak-kneed fellas who ran for president are giving up and giving in — we aren’t going anywhere." The campaign also has announced plans for a rally in Haley’s home state of South Carolina on Wednesday evening.
It’s only been days since former Republican hopeful Ron DeSantis announced his own campaign swing in South Carolina — before quickly withdrawing from the race.
So just how well does Haley have to perform in New Hampshire to make the case for moving forward?
Veteran Republican strategist Frank Luntz suggested the calculation is pretty straightforward: “At 10 points or more, she drops out,” Luntz said in a text message to NPR.
Republican pollster Jon McHenry says a double-digit loss would make “a path forward pretty tough.” Even with a single-digit loss, he argues, her campaign could still have a path forward, but Haley would likely need to “appeal more directly to independents and even some Democrats” in the state’s open primary.
If Haley were to pull off an upset and win in New Hampshire, McHenry says, that would “effectively reset” the primary heading into South Carolina next month, and force voters there “to take a fresh look at the contest.”
Assuming she takes her campaign to her home state, Furman University politics professor Danielle Vinson says, Haley will face a challenging landscape, where Trump remains very popular.
“The good news is that she has several weeks before the SC primary, and she is one of the hardest working, most efficient candidates I’ve ever seen,” Vinson said in an email to NPR. “She knows the electorate and who she needs to persuade.”
And Vinson says she will have to win over Trump voters.
Scott Huffmon, director of the Center for Public Opinion & Policy Research at Winthrop University in South Carolina, says polls in his state “have shown a couple of things (1) Republican voters in South Carolina love Nikki Haley and see her very favorably, but (2) they still want Donald Trump to be president.”
A Gen Z voter organization is putting Trump and Haley on blast
GenZforTrump.org? GenZforHaley.org?
It's not what you think.
Clicking on either link redirects to a website run by the left-leaning youth voter organization Voters of Tomorrow Action. The page reads "Meet the far right's candidates."
News of the group purchasing both domains was first reported by WIRED on Monday.
There's a page for Haley and for Trump — which critically ticks through a list of the candidates' policy platforms and records. It notably highlights issues that clash with progressive values, including abortion access and addressing climate change.
“Republicans are not investing in outreach to young people, and we know why. Their regressive, radical stances on abortion rights, guns, climate change, and other top issues are overwhelmingly unpopular with Gen Z," Jessica Siles, Voters of Tomorrow's deputy press secretary, said in a statement.
"Since Trump and Haley won’t accurately inform young people of their views, we will," she said.
Gen Z includes anyone born between 1997 and 2012, meaning that the oldest in the generation are just 27 years old.
Voters under 30 have overwhelmingly supported Democrats in recent major elections. Back in 2020, they voted for Joe Biden over Trump by a 25-point margin.
Polls begin closing in New Hampshire but some outliers close later
Most polls in New Hampshire are closing at 7 p.m. ET as the state begins wrapping up voting in its presidential primary.
Because New Hampshire has limited absentee voting, most of the state’s primary voters will have cast their ballots today. Under state law, polling places must remain open at least until 7 p.m., although some keep their doors open until one hour later.
With the Republican race down to just two major candidates, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley has been trailing former President Donald Trump in polls while trying to make the case that she represents an alternative to either Trump or President Joe Biden, the Democratic frontrunner.
Haley’s campaign released a memo earlier in the day looking ahead to upcoming primaries, and announced plans to campaign in her home state of South Carolina, where she served as governor, on Wednesday night.
Democrats are also holding a primary, but Biden is not on the ballot because of a disputebetween state Democrats and national party leaders including Biden, who wanted to elevate the more racially diverse state of South Carolina.
New Hampshire’s top election official has said he’s “very confident” that election results will be released by the end of the night. But there are fears a write-in campaign on behalf of Biden could slow down that timeline.
Plymouth State students vote for the first time
In Plymouth, some Plymouth State University students cast the first votes of their lives today.
Becc Kulengosky hit the polls after class, around 5. He said there was more paperwork than he anticipated, but voting was a good feeling.
“My parents are a completely different party than me, think completely different than I do,” he said. “I have always kind of leaned a different way than them. So I think having that little bit of freedom has been really nice feeling.”
Kulengosky said he’s been researching candidates and talking about them with his friends for a while. He cast a vote for Dean Phillips, saying he seemed “right in the middle.”
“He’s not super Democrat, he’s not super Republican,” he said.
Kulengosky says he’s been encouraging all his friends to get out and vote.
“I’m like, every vote matters. Everything we do matters. Because we are the people who will eventually be taking over the country. If we’re going to do it we might as well get started now,” he said. “And as a trans person, seeing what’s going on, it kinda makes you a little worried sometimes.”
Kulengosky came with his best friend, Arabella Apigo, who was also voting for the first time. She says it was easy and exciting. Both Apigo and Kulengosky are studying to become music teachers.
“I’m very much interested in how the candidates feel about education policies. Especially regarding the lack of pay teachers get,” Apigo said.
She said LGBTQ rights and immigration issues were also on her mind at the ballot box.
“A lot of my family, they live in the Philippines, and they want to come here. So I’d like for the candidates to also be very much in support of that,” she said.
Apigo cast her vote for Joe Biden, saying if he wins, she hopes Kamala Harris would eventually become president.
A note about race calls and what to expect
NPR does not make race calls. NPR follows The Associated Press, which has a decision desk with statisticians and a long, successful track record.
The early call for former President Trump in Iowa received lots of attention because it came shortly after voting began during the caucuses. This was an unusual situation because traditionally, calls are made when all polls close, but these were party-run caucuses, not state-run primaries.
The state party decided to release data as it was coming in — even with the caucuses still ongoing. And the AP and the other networks conducted large entrance polls — surveys of voters headed into caucus sites to find out who they are voting for and to gather demographic information.
That demographic information is vital, because it’s how anyone knows how conservative or moderate a state is, whether voters are more suburban or rural, more religious or less so. Given Trump’s very large lead in the entrance polls, combined with available actual results from key precincts that the decision desks identified beforehand, AP was confident it could make the call when it did.
In New Hampshire, it is a state-run primary, so it’s a much more traditional election night. Some polling locations will close at 7 p.m. ET, but AP won’t make a call until all polls close at 8 p.m. ET. The AP and the other networks are sometimes able to make race calls right at poll-closing time with very little vote in.
That’s possible again tonight, but it will only be if the AP voter survey shows a massive lead for a candidate and key precincts' voter data match that.
Biden wanted to talk about abortion. But protesters had another issue in mind
MANASSAS, Va. -- President Biden and Vice President Harris held their first big rally of the year today about 500 miles away from New Hampshire, hoping to connect the dots between Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and the politically unpopular restrictions on abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
But Biden was repeatedly interrupted by people protesting his support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.
“Stop funding genocide!” one person shouted before being drowned out by a chorus of “Four more years!” from Biden supporters gathered in an auditorium at George Mason University.
"This is gonna go on for a while -- they got this planned,” Biden said at one point.
The frequent interjections — there were at least 10 – distracted from Biden’s message about abortion rights — an issue his campaign believes will energize Democratic voters ahead of November.
The campaign is particularly focused on young voters, who were critical to Biden’s win in 2020 – but whose enthusiasm has waned.
This was the second recent event where Biden was interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Earlier this month, he was speaking at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., when he had to pause to allow for young people to be escorted from the room. “I understand their passion,” he said at the time.
Manchester hosts watch party for Biden write-in campaign
At the Puritan Backroom in Manchester, NH democratic organizers will hold a watch party to see if their efforts to push a write-in campaign for President Biden were successful despite the results not counting toward the national electoral results.
Despite all write-in ballots needing to be hand-counted, NH secretary of state Dave Scanlan told NPR's Morning Edition that he expects results tonight. “New Hampshire has a long history of doing this in a very efficient and fair and accurate way, and this election will be no different,” he said. “We will have results before the end of the night.”
Tune in at 7 for live coverage of NH primary night
Tune in for NPR’s First in the Nation primary coverage beginning at 7 p.m. Live coverage from New Hampshire Public Radio begins at 8 p.m. In addition to your radio, you can listen live at nhpr.org or through our mobile app.
7 p.m. NH Primary Night Election Coverage from NPR
Await the closing of the polls with continued updates from the field and polling sites across the state, and national news from NPR.
8 – 10 p.m. (and beyond) NH Primary Night Election Coverage from NHPR
Primary night coverage will take place from the NHPR studios. Tune in to hear from NHPR journalists posted around the state, reporting in from candidates’ headquarters and polling sites. NHPR’s Julia Furukawa will host coverage that evening; she’ll be joined in-studio for analysis from Dante Scala, professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire.
C-SPAN will simulcast NHPR’s live broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. NHPR’s content will also be available through C-SPAN Radio, C-SPAN.org, C-SPAN Select, and C-SPAN Now.
WBUR in Boston will also be airing NHPR’s reporting throughout the evening.
Voting 'smooth and steady' in Plymouth
Voting has been smooth and steady all day in Plymouth, according to election moderator Robert Clay. About 1300 people had come through the polls as of 5 pm.
He’s been an election official in town since 1978. He says this primary has been more low-key than usual, and voters don’t seem thrilled about their options.
“The mood is kind of people coming to do their democratic duty," he said. "Usually you see people excited about one way or another, and you’re not seeing that today.”
Clay says he’s seen lots of questions about write-in votes, after supporters of Joe Biden mounted a write-in campaign on his behalf.
A new New Hampshire law governing how voters who don’t bring an ID to the polls are able to cast a ballot has made things more difficult this year, Clay said, but there haven’t been any people casting affidavit ballots.
“As laws change it becomes more stressful to be a moderator than it ever has in the past. But I’m dedicated to having a fair and open election and will continue to do so as long as I do it.”
Clay showed off new "I Voted" stickers, which were designedby fourth graders at the Plymouth Elementary School. That contest inspired a state-wide one for the other stickers New Hampshire voters will get today.
What are the new campaign strategies for New Hampshire?
Today’s New Hampshire primary is really between two people: former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump.
NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben, who was in New Hampshire last week, told NPR’s Morning Edition that Nikki Haley’s campaign has begun arguing that Trump’s many endorsements and donations from Republicans make him the establishment candidate, while Trump has said that Democrats are supporting Haley because she’ll be easy to beat.
New Hampshire allows independent voters to cast ballots in their primary elections, which may help Haley this time around.
“I’m praying, I’m hoping that it will be Nikki and Biden, and if that’s the case, I would vote for Nikki,” Danielle Brown, a voter who saw Haley speak in Hollis, N.H., said.
Similar to Iowa, however, Trump supporters are less likely to be swayed.
“Trump voters in New Hampshire are quite similar to the Trump voters in Iowa, which is to say — they're super devoted, a lot of them have been with him for years, they just really didn’t even consider other candidates this time around,” Kurtzleben told NPR’s A Martínez.
Hooksett: Added pollworkers a test for general election
At Cawley Middle School in Hooksett, moderator Todd Lizzote said he saw a strong voter turnout today.
Lizotte said the town increased the number of volunteers significantly this primary to help speed up the check-in process, and increased the number of check-in stations to 17.
“At the general election in November may make it to 9,000 votes cast,” he said. “So we use this as a trial to see how this works.”
Lizotte said so far everybody was happy about the results of the experiment.
Two Manchester independents agree on economy, differ on immigration
Loli Fernandez and Elin Peña identify as independent voters. This afternoon they went to Manchester's Ward 5, one of the largest and most diverse in the state, to cast ballots in the state's presidential primary. Fernandez's daughter, Soleli, joined them.
Both women have multiple jobs and said they cast their vote looking for a change in the economy. Fernandez voted for Trump. She said she worries about what is happening at the border.
“A lot of people are coming and that is a security risk,” Fernandez said.
By her side Peña, who voted for a Democrat, said she disagreed with Trump’s views about immigrants.
Voters are choosing not just a GOP candidate, but the future of the party
New Hampshire voters aren't just choosing which Republican candidate they want as president. They're also deciding what kind of Republican party they want.
The GOP has been struggling to figure out what it stands for basically since the moment Donald Trump rode down the escalator to announce his candidacy in 2015, says NPR's Franco Ordóñez.
Trump embodies the new wave of conservative populism that has taken hold of the party, while Haley represents the limited government wing of the party that also supports strong foreign policy.
Alex Conant, who helped lead Sen. Marco Rubio's presidential campaign in 2016, told Ordóñez the New Hampshire primary is so important because "it's the first time where we have a really clear choice."
"The New Hampshire primary is the last hurdle for Donald Trump to demonstrate that the Republican Party is a populist party now and that the limited government, traditional conservatives that Nikki Haley represents do not have any real power within the party," Conant added.
Ordóñez spoke to voters in Manchester, N.H., about how they're thinking about the divisions — and the future — of the Republican Party.
Listen to his report here and read more below.
Jim Spengler, 70, describes himself as an independent with conservative views.
"I remember back when in my youth that the Republicans would stand tall and would vote in unison," he says. "And it seems the parties have basically flip-flopped."
Luke Rose, a 26-year-old casino dealer, supported Vivek Ramaswamy and now plans to vote for former President Trump. He believes the outcome of the New Hampshire primary will send a clear message: "That Trump has officially been chosen, he's the one. And beyond that, we have to prepare ourselves — whether we like it [or] not — for a MAGA America or a Biden America."
And Phil Palker, a former Coast Guard navigator who works in transportation, says Trump has expanded the party by connecting with voters like him in a way that no politician previously has.
"Donald Trump is changing the Republican Party," he added. "And, you know, I think I'm evolving with him."
No lines, moderate turnout in Durham
In Durham, N.H., home to UNH, there are zero lines. About 3,500 votes cast so far, a moderate turnout according to local officials. #fitn @nhpr pic.twitter.com/ZOfyKCuEX7
— Todd Bookman (@toddbookman) January 23, 2024
A U.S. rarity: Nearly all N.H. primary voters will be voting today
New Hampshire has few options for voters to cast a ballot before Election Day.
The state doesn’t provide any in-person early voting, and its absentee or mail voting is limited.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, only three states — Alabama, Mississippi and New Hampshire — don’t allow voters to cast a ballot in-person before Election Day.
And per New Hampshire state law, you can only vote by mail if you are going to be out of town on Election Day, have a religious observance, have to work the entire time polls are open, or have a disability or illness.
According to Secretary of State David Scanlan, only 26,162 voters requested an absentee ballot for today's primaries — out of the state’s 873,357 total registered voters. (New Hampshire does have Election Day voter registration, however.)
New Hampshire is something of a rarity. Since 2020, more states have embraced no-excuse absentee voting and mail voting options, as well as expanded early in-person voting.
Hampstead: 'Steady and busy' turnout
“Steady and busy” is how Hampstead’s town clerk Patricia Curran describes their election turn out.
Hampstead held primary polling at Hampstead Middle School.
The morning had a bit of a rush, but by afternoon Curran said the polls have stayed steady. There haven’t been any difficulties or hiccups, just the occasional voter that wasn’t registered under the party they wanted to cast their vote for.
Hampstead is a fairly conservative town nestled between Manchester and Nashua. However, it still has Biden supporters.
Christine Kimball, a registered Democrat, said she’s glad New Hampshire participates in the primary but doesn't think the state needs to be first. She also said she’s not really happy with any of the democratic candidates this go round.
Age is a concern for Kimball when it comes to voting for a presidential candidate.
“I think that over 75 is too old, although I’m over 75 myself - but I’m not running for president,” she said.
While Nick Johnson, who leans conservative said he’s a little disappointed that Ron DeSantis dropped out.
“I just wanted him to stick it out a little longer, just to wait for the ballots. Now it’s only him and Haley and [I] don’t want her.”
Where Trump and Haley stand on key issues, from abortion to immigration
New Hampshire voters are thinking mainly about the economy, the state of democracy and immigration, according to recent polls and reporting.
Where do Donald Trump and Nikki Haley stand on those and other key issues?
Whether you're looking for a quick refresher or a more comprehensive deep dive, NPR's politics team has you covered.
Check out their "tracking the issues" series to learn more about where the candidates stand on:
Holding out hope for DeSantis in Peterborough
The Republican presidential primary may have narrowed to a two-person race between Donald Trump and Nikki Haley. But at least one New Hampshire voter was still holding out hope for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who dropped out of the race Sunday.
“Dropped out’s not right,” said Dave DeWitt, who was outside the Peterborough polling place Tuesday afternoon with a set of DeSantis 2024 signs. “He suspended his campaign.”
DeWitt, who lives one town over in Dublin, said he wanted to remind people that DeSantis is still technically on the ballot in New Hampshire and can accrue delegates.
“I voted for Donald Trump in the last two elections, and I voted for all of his candidates in 2022,” he said. “And they all lost, and he lost in 2020. So as far as I’m concerned, he can’t win.”
DeWitt says Trump’s legal challenges may disqualify him as a candidate before November, setting the stage - however likely - for a DeSantis comeback.
“If you’ve only suspended your campaign, you can reactivate it,” he said. [Editor's note: It's rare, but technically possible.]
“I’ve never actually heard of anybody doing that,” he added with a laugh, “but I’m hoping it happens, or I wouldn’t be standing here!”
New Hampshire’s secretary of state on why the Granite State should vote first
While Democrats nationally shunned New Hampshire as the party’s first presidential primary state, the state’s lead voting official told NPR there’s a good argument to be made as to why the Granite State should vote first.
"This is about the little guy, the average American citizen that when they were in the fourth grade had the dream to grow up and be president of the United States,” David Scanlan, the state’s Republican secretary of state, said in an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition. “New Hampshire is probably the only state left where that could happen.”
That’s because it's incredibly easy to get on New Hampshire's presidential primary ballot: All it takes is a declaration of candidacy and a $1,000 filing fee.
That simplicity has led to crowded fields on both sides of Tuesday’s primaries. Both the Republican and Democratic presidential primary ballots will have more than 20 names, said Scanlan.
“And those candidates that run here are incredibly diverse, racially, financially and education-wise,” he said. “They believe they have something to offer the country, and they want to put it on the line in New Hampshire.”
One candidate who won’t be on the ballot, however, is the incumbent president of the United States, Joe Biden. Biden is skipping New Hampshire because of a dispute between the state and the Democratic National Committee over the party’s nominating calendar.
Thousands of Democrats are expected to write him in anyway, which means those ballots will need to be hand-counted, even in places that use machines to tabulate votes.
Still, Scanlan says he fully expects to have the state’s unofficial results calculated by the end of the night Tuesday.
“New Hampshire has a long history of doing this in a very efficient and fair and accurate way, and this election will be no different,” he said. “We will have results before the end of the night.”
Photos: Voting in Laconia
Kathryn Holt came out to vote in Laconia with her mother, also named Catherine Holt. She says she feels voting is her duty.“
My mom instilled in me since I could vote, that you had the suffragettes and everybody that fought for women to vote, so I have voted in every election I possibly can since then.”
Both Holts are independents who voted for Nikki Haley. The elder Catherine Holt says she think Trump and Biden are both too old for office, and she’d like to see someone with new ideas.
“We’re suffering right now. I don’t care what he says about the economy and everything - it’s so expensive to go out to the store and buy anything, and it’s just a struggle week to week. So there has to be a change.”
The Holts say they’re still undecided about what they would do in the general election, if it becomes a contest between Nikki Haley and Joe Biden.
May Stewart is the election moderator in Laconia’s Ward 1. She says it’s been busier than other elections she’s seen. Her polling place has had a steady stream of voters and lots of new registrations. At 12:30, more than 600 people had voted.
“People are anxious and happy to be here,” she said.
She says she became an election moderator after the 2020 election.
“When I heard stories that it wasn’t a free and fair election, I did not believe that. That propelled me to wanting to volunteer,” she said.
Donald Basso, the moderator in Laconia's Ward 6, also said his polling place had been busy.“Things are running smoothly, but the turnout is much greater than we expected.”
Deborah Sekou voted in Laconia. She wrote in Joe Biden’s name – though she said she wished he’d actually been on the ballot.
“It is what it is, and I figured, I know who I’m supporting, so I wrote his name in, with no problem at all.”
Sekou said she was a lifelong Republican. But that changed when Donald Trump became a candidate.
“There’s no way I can support what they’re doing now and what they’ve been doing. I’m so disappointed in the party. I became an Independent because I’m not all that happy with the Democrats all the time either, but they stand for far more of what I believe in than anything going on in the Republican party these days.”
Harold DeLucca has lived in Laconia for his whole life – 73 years. He said he came out to vote for Trump because he wants to see the cost of living get less expensive – for retired people like him, and for the next generations.
“Trump did good for the country. I just wish he would stay off social media,” he said. “Some of his comments I don’t agree with. But I agree with what he did for the country. He did good for the country.”
Robert White also came out to vote in Laconia. He says he sees voting as a duty and votes in every election. Like DeLucca, he’s supporting Trump in the primary – but made a point to acknowledge the downsides of his candidate.
“Trump has a way of getting in trouble by himself. He’s very arrogant, but that comes with his life, and the way he was brought up. Putting that aside, what he did in his first term was incredible. In my opinion, he did more than any other president in my lifetime.”
Trump flexes recent endorsements on the trail in bid to show dominance over the Republican Party
It might not be surprising that former President Donald Trump, who is the polling leader in New Hampshire and nationally for the nomination, would have high-profile endorsements for his third run for the White House.
But many recent supporters he's touted are meant to highlight his hold over the GOP, and to flex on Nikki Haley.
Over the weekend, Trump featured South Carolina's current Gov. Henry McMaster, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette at a rally. Sen. Tim Scott (whom Haley appointed), Rep. Nancy Mace (whom Haley campaigned for in a tight primary in 2020) and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (whom Haley endorsed in 2016 for president) have all endorsed Trump in recent days.
And of course Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who dropped out of the presidential race on Sunday, spent his final day on the trail in South Carolina bashing Haley's time as governor of the Palmetto State before – you guessed it – endorsing Trump.
NH's new ‘I Voted’ stickers? Designed by local fourth graders
New Hampshire is debuting a series of new “I voted” stickers, drawn by local fourth-graders. The Secretary of State’s office announced the new designs after an inaugural statewide competition that garnered over 1,000 entries.
Ten-year-old Rilynn Bolen was one of three winners. She does art nearly every day but has never won an art competition. “I love drawing either stuff from movies or stuff from my mind,” she said. Rilynn's design features a moose on a ledge, in front of an autumnal vista.
Did you snap a photo with your new 'I Voted' sticker? Share it with us! Email it to voices@nhpr.org.
Photos: Candidates visit voting sites
Candidates are meeting with voters and visiting polling sites as primary day stretches on.
Nikki Haley chatted with supporters and reporters outside a high school serving as a polling place in the town of Hampton. She was accompanied by New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican who endorsed her.
Donald Trump also visited a polling site, where a crowd of supporters gathered. He could be seen autographing red caps for some.
Meanwhile, Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips courted Democratic voters. He shared a video of himself shaking hands with someone leaving a voting site, careful to respect the New Hampshire law that prohibits "electioneering" within 10 feet of a polling place.
If you’re elected to be a rule maker, you better be a rule follower! https://t.co/ZMw7vYa6qS
— Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) January 23, 2024
President Biden is not actively campaigning in New Hampshire, where he isn't on the ballot. But volunteers are camping out near polling places to encourage Democrats to write in his name.
Keene: Workers gearing up for a long night
Election workers in Keene say they’re gearing up what could be a late night counting ballots. A large number of write-ins are expected on the Democratic side, after President Joe Biden declined to appear on the ballot.
Scott Hussey is an election official in the city’s Ward 1, which has a large number of college students. He said Keene brought on around 200 new volunteers to help with this year’s primary – both with counting ballots and the rollout of a new electronic voter check-in system.
“The city and a lot of the election workers did a really good job of going out to the community, talking to their neighbors and trying to get more volunteers to come in and help us,” he said.
Around 400 people had voted in Ward 1 as of early afternoon.Some Democrats in the liberal-leaning city were looking for alternatives to President Joe Biden as they voted in today’s primary.
“I was definitely influenced by right now how the Biden administration is treating the Palestine and Israel conflict, and their involvement with Israel,” said Avery Honey, who works at a local children’s museum and voted for Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips.
She said she also likes that Phillips represents a younger generation of leaders, and is not thrilled with the prospect of a Trump-Biden rematch.
Similarly, Ruth Warren, who is retired, said she voted for Phillips because “it’s time to have some new experience in there.”
Casey Schmidl-Gagne, a registered independent, recently graduated Keene State College with a degree in political science and journalism, said he leans to the left politically. But he voted strategically in this year’s Republican primary.“I voted for Nikki Haley so that somebody could beat Trump,” he said.
Dean Phillips employs Bigfoot and spends $5 million on a race that doesn’t count
So much attention in this New Hampshire primary has been focused on the Republicans and with good reason — their race counts.
On the Democratic side, New Hampshire was demoted, and President Biden is not appearing on the primary ballot. That was intended as a punishment of the state, because New Hampshire refused to go along with giving up its first-in-the-nation status and cede the ground to South Carolina, which launched Biden to the 2020 nomination.
But the demotion left an opening for Democrats looking for attention for their longshot bids for the nomination. The candidate who has made the most of it is Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn. The wealthy former co-owner of Talenti Gelato has been all over the airwaves in the Granite State. Phillips’ campaign and an outside group supporting him have spent $5 million on ads.
The ads argue Washington is “out of touch,” that a “new generation of leaders” is needed, that it was wrong for Biden to tell New Hampshire to “step aside” and that Medicare for all is needed.
And the one Phillips’ campaign has spent the most money on — nearly $300,000, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact — uses Bigfoot to needle Biden.
“I'm something of an expert on elusive creatures,” says Bigfoot. “So I challenged myself to find President Biden in New Hampshire during this primary season. I thought I was good at hiding. So I asked around, have you seen Joe?”
He doesn’t find him. The write-in campaign, which the Biden reelection campaign has not explicitly endorsed, leads in the sparse polls that have been taken. But if Phillips were to win, it would be a black eye for Biden, especially if it also happens on the same night that Trump all but wraps up the GOP nomination with a double-digit win.
Photos: Scenes from Rye
During the lunch rush inside Rye Elementary School, the line to vote stretched 25-minutes long. But by early afternoon, the wait was much shorter. Bob Eaton, the town’s moderator, said approximately 1,200 votes were cast as of 1:30pm, which he described as “pretty strong, but it won’t be a record or anything like that.”
Voters including Gesele Scully said the process was smooth. She cast her ballot for Biden, saying “he’s my guy.”
Chris Rickey, who came with his daughter Lulu, voted in the Republican primary for Nikki Haley. He said he knew nothing about her policies, but “anybody but Trump.”
'Turnout’s tremendous' as New Hampshire primary voters face big crowds, long lines
Residents in Merrimack County, N.H., say they had never seen such a high turnout for a primary election.
David Craig, who is supporting former President Donald Trump, even tried to pick an hour to visit his local elementary school polling place when the lines would be shorter.
“I came at this time because I thought people would be working,” Craig explained. “But no, everybody's here. Turnout’s tremendous.”
New Hampshire’s secretary of state has predicted record turnout for the Republican primary.
Another voter at the school this afternoon, Rich Smiddy, thinks the good weather will help bring more people out.
He also figured higher turnout would give a more representative picture of how people in New Hampshire — and perhaps the country — feel about the two main candidates in the Republican party: Trump and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
“It’s going to be a close call,” Smiddy guessed. “I think Trump might win by not as big as the margin as I think he thinks he's going to win by.”
“But, you know, good luck to both of them,” he added.
Polls close in Merrimack at 7 p.m., when most polls close in the state, though some will remain open until 8 p.m.
Goffstown: Voting going smoothly, scene strangely quiet
Poll workers in Goffstown say today's presidential primary voting has gone smoothly. Henry Giasson spent the morning volunteering at the polls. He said a lot of poll workers, supervisors, clerks, moderators and volunteers are long life neighbors, old friends or family members. He feels democracy is well guarded in small places where people know each other.
“In a town where you can vote for the people that affect your life, if you are not here to keep the integrity of the elections, or to vote on the process then you are not safeguarding your own future,” he said.
Polls in Goffstown close at 7 p.m. tonight.
Max Wiseman and Benjamin Shiller are journalism students at Syracuse University. They have been in New Hampshire for the past week covering the primary election as a political reporting class assignment. They say they are amazed by the number of reporters they have met during these days and that makes them excited to be journalists. “It has been great to cover it, you got to see it first hand,” said Shiller.
Lionel Coulon is an assistant moderator who has served in this position for almost two decades; his wife is a supervisor. He says he's not certain why no one was holding signs outside his polling place. “People running for office have dropped out and people think it is an obvious one at this point, this one or that one is going to win,” he said. “I don’t know, again I am baffled.”
Coulon said turnout was steady during the morning and he was preparing for longer lines later in the day.
Photos: Scenes from Dublin
Trump just lost another bid to lift the gag order in his Jan. 6 case
Meanwhile, in Trump legal news:
An appeals court in Washington, D.C., has denied Donald Trump's request for a rehearing to lift a gag order in his federal election interference case.
The full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals said today it won't grant Trump a hearing in front of its full panel of judges. The one-sentence ruling did not include an opinion.
That means that Trump's last option is to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, the federal judge presiding over the election interference case, imposed the partial gag order back in October. It bars Trump and other parties from making statements targeting prosecutors and court personnel, as well as making inflammatory statements about likely witnesses.
The order was sought by the office of special counsel Jack Smith, who said Trump's comments threatened to intimidate and taint the jury pool.
Trump's team pledged to fight back and appeal the order, arguing that it violated his free-speech rights. In early December, a federal appeals court panel preserved much of the original gag order but allowed him to make public comments about Smith himself.
Trump appealed that ruling and asked for a full hearing before the D.C. appeals court to try to remove the gag ruling altogether. That question is what judges rejected today.
The federal election interference case is one of four criminal cases that Trump now faces. He has pleaded not guilty, and late last month asked the federal appeals court to throw out the case on the basis that he is immune from prosecution for misconduct during his time in office. A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit is expected to rule on that shortly.
Trump appeared in a D.C. courtroom earlier this month to make his case, though judges seemed skeptical of his claims of immunity.
What 4 recent Trump speeches suggest about his plans and priorities
Trump has been speaking at rallies along the campaign trail, often for more than an hour at a time. But most people only hear short snippets, whether in the news or on social media.
The unfiltered speeches offer much more insight into the candidate's opinions and obsessions, argues Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep.
Inskeep analyzed four speeches from four consecutive nights, two in Iowa and two in New Hampshire.
He found that immigration and border security were the topics on which Trump made the most policy promises, from mass deportations to further immunity for law enforcement.
Even so, Inskeep says, Trump spoke much more of people than policies, railing against Republican governors he perceived as disloyal and suggesting rival Nikki Haley would have an unfair advantage in New Hampshire's semi-open primary.
Trump spoke at length about the federal and state criminal cases against him, using the word "indict" or "indictment" close to 50 times across four speeches. But he said less about what he was indicted for, including his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
And noticeably absent from those speeches: mention of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, anything about his recent promise to be a "dictator" on day one, or mention of abortion (including the word itself).
Inskeep sums up the core of Trump's case to voters as this: "That he is one man, fighting against the grievances and conspiracies he sees almost everywhere."
New Hampshire's governor, who endorsed Haley, claps back at Trump
Many of Trump's plentiful Truth Social posts today are about the election, from sharing campaign videos to praising the enthusiasm of his New Hampshire fans.
Others are more disparaging, especially towards Joe Biden and Nikki Haley. At one point this afternoon, Trump homed in on another target: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican who endorsed Haley last month.
Sununu has accompanied Haley at campaign stops in his home state this, appeared in joint interviews and talked her up in TV appearances — which Trump noticed.
"Why does Fox keep putting New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu on??? Every time I mention his name at a Rally, they BOOO like crazy," Trump wrote. "He’s all jacked up on something, but he ran for President, without having the courage to announce, and did really poorly. To have this loser on so much is really bad TV."
Sununu fired back shortly after in a post on X.
"I suppose it’s tough keeping up with the conversation given your advanced age," he wrote. "Maybe try subtitles next time. Thanks for watching."
Trump has called out other Republican governors who refused to endorse him, including, most recently, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.
But he still has the endorsements of many high-profile Republicans, including several who have ties to Haley.
Sen. Tim Scott (whom Haley appointed), Rep. Nancy Mace (whom Haley campaigned for in a tight primary in 2020) and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (whom Haley endorsed in 2016 for president) have all endorsed Trump in recent days.
Voting in Bedford: Long lines, but quick turnaround
Shahab Ahmad and his wife Alia Jabeen live in Bedford. They moved there from Pakistan 30 years ago. They say although most of their neighbors are Republicans, they are independent voters who in this primary chose a Democrat – they prefer not to share who. Ahmad says he was reluctant to do it because he is not happy with Biden’s support for Israel.
“Human dignity is being ruined, and we voted for Biden [last time], and we are very upset by his stance. They don’t consider Palestinians as human,” he said.
Ahmad, who is an engineer, says he has seen too much arguing between the left and the right in this election cycle, and that worries him.
Jada Cheney is one of the young voters who arrived early to Bedford High School this morning, where the assistant moderator, Eric Bernand, had to open its doors early to let a long line of voters guard themselves from the cold morning. Still many had to wait around twenty minutes until the poll opened officially.
Once inside, Cheney and her mother Suzanne Woodcock noticed that the line circulated quickly. The moderator said that was possible thanks to the machines that automatically checked the voter’s IDs instead of the volunteers crossing names on a sheet of paper. He said around 250 people voted in the first 30 minutes.
Cheney, who is 23, is an independent who voted for Republican Nikki Haley, but she will remain independent as she doesn't want politicians to put her “in a box." She thinks this primary feels different for young people like her who see their lives will be affected by any result.
"I think they are watching. I think they are listening,” she said. Cheney’s mother said she was happy to vote, especially because the election ads would be finally over.
Photos: Concord Wards 4 & 5
There's a Democratic primary today, too (sort of)
Joe Biden won't win the Democratic primary in New Hampshire today, or earn any delegates towards securing his party's presidential nomination — but "Joe Biden" might get the most votes.
That's because New Hampshire's primary date violates the rules set by the Democratic National Committee governing what states can go first.
This year, the Biden-backed calendar shuffle makes South Carolina's Feb. 3 primary the official kickoff to the Democratic primary. But New Hampshire law says its primary must be the first one (Iowans vote in a caucus).
So Biden did not file to appear on the ballot, and the DNC won't award any delegates for now. The president's supporters have launched a campaign to write in "Joe Biden" instead of voting for any of the 21 declared candidates.
Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and self-help author Marianne Williamson are among the notable long-shot Democratic names that will be on the ballot.
Climate protesters disrupted Trump's rally last night, the 3rd in a row
Climate protesters disrupted three of Trump's New Hampshire rallies leading up to the primary, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Trump was joined onstage in Laconia last night by three rivals-turned-allies: Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, R, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Trump's remarks were interrupted multiple times by fossil fuel protesters, including one who called him an "oil sellout," according to ABC News.
The repeated interruptions prompted "escalating taunts from Trump and the crowd, and at least one injury of unclear severity to a bystander caught in the shuffle," according to the Washington Post.
Video posted online shows security officers escorting the protesters out of the crowded room as attendees booed loudly. Some Trump supporters appeared to shove the protesters, prompting security personnel to shout "Keep your hands to yourself."
Adah Crandall, an activist with the Sunrise Movement (an environmental advocacy group) who interrupted the protest, later told ABC News that the group's goal was not necessarily to persuade Trump supporters.
"The goal here is to show the general public … that our generation deserves better," Crandall said.
Why New Hampshire's primary is always first — and what's different this year
New Hampshire has held the first primary in the nation for over a century now.
It became the first primary contest in 1920, when Minnesota dropped its primary and Indiana moved to May.
At the chaotic Democratic National Convention of 1968, a lack of democratic accountability among party elites and public unrest over racial injustice and the Vietnam War led to disruptive riots.
Party officials made changes to the presidential nominating process to make it more transparent. That's how Iowa came to hold the first caucus in the nation in 1972.
Iowa state legislators saw the benefits of going first and passed a law saying its caucuses must be held at least eight days before any other state's nominating caucus.
Around the same time, New Hampshire politicians put forth a similar law requiring their primary to go first. In the 1980s, New Hampshire and Iowa struck a deal allowing each to hold the first primary and caucus, respectively.
In the decades since, critics have taken issue with the leading roles of New Hampshire and Iowa, in large part because they are not demographically representative of the country as a whole.
This time around, the national Democratic party wanted South Carolina to replace New Hampshire as the first primary, since the state's Democratic base is more diverse (and President Biden's 2020 win there helped propel him to the nomination).
But New Hampshire officials resisted, leading to a rift between state and national Democrats. As a result, New Hampshire is still holding the first primary, but Biden's name can't appear on the Democratic ballot (which is why the party is urging voters to write in his name).
As punishment, New Hampshire will have zero Democratic delegates at the national convention this summer. The Democratic National Committee has repeatedly referred to New Hampshire's primary as "meaningless."
Even so, there are 21 Democrats on the ballot, from Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips to artist Paperboy Love Prince and other lesser-known names.
New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan told NPR's Morning Editionlast week that while the state is predominantly white, it's also one of only a few places where "the average American citizen" can get their name on the presidential ballot (it only requires a declaration and a $1,000 filing fee).
"A person can come to New Hampshire and run a campaign without name recognition and without a great deal of money, and they have the opportunity to break out of the pack," he said. "It is important that that opportunity occur at the beginning of the process as opposed to the end so that if a person does do well here and they want to move their campaign forward, they can take it to the other states."
Trump (and Haley) has pledged to enact policies boosting oil and gas production if elected, with "drill, baby, drill" becoming a refrain of his campaign.
Foreign policy takes on growing importance as NH voters weigh primary choices
The latest polling from UNH now shows that more and more primary voters see foreign policy as a key issue in determining who they will vote for, trailing only the economy.
Bob Crook, who heard Haley at an event in Atkinson earlier this month, said — like it or not — he believes the U.S. has to stay engaged, particularly to make sure Ukraine isn't overrun by Russia and that China doesn't end up taking Taiwan.
“It’s a crazy time, and if any of that stuff goes down, it would be terrible for a lot of people for a lot of reasons,” Crook said. “We don’t want to isolate; we’ve done that in the past. You know, ‘stick and carrot,’ right?”
New Hampshire primaries have a history of tears and dirty tricks
There's been plenty of drama at New Hampshire primaries over the years.
That includes a hoax letter that was planted by Republican Richard Nixon's campaign. It falsely accused a leading Democratic candidate, Edmund Muskie, of using an ethnic slur that led Muskie to (maybe) cry in a public outburst while also defending his wife, whom a local newspaper accused of liking "to tell dirty jokes and smoke cigarettes."
Ooooh.
Tame stuff by today's standards, but it was hot in 1972.
"It changed people's minds about me, of what kind of guy I was," Muskie said of the moment. "They were looking for a strong, steady man, and here I was, weak."
In 2008, it was the reverse. Hillary Clinton choked up during an event answering a question from a voter. That gained lots of attention and might have turned her fortunes around for the positive in the Granite State.
Haley's campaign memo shifts the goalposts from New Hampshire to Super Tuesday
Nikki Haley's campaign released a memo on the state of the GOP primary, now that it's essentially down to her and Donald Trump, arguing that the next six weeks offer "fertile ground" to reach Republican, Democratic and independent voters in many states.
"After Super Tuesday, we will have a very good picture of where this race stands," the memo reads. "At that point, millions of Americans in 26 states and territories will have voted."
Until then, the campaign says, "Everyone should take a deep breath."
Many political experts and poll numbers suggest today's primary is the last chance for Haley to mount a serious challenge against Trump.
The campaign memo lays out a hypothetical path into March in which Haley can compete in a wider variety of states, including the 16 that vote on March 5, also known as Super Tuesday.
"The political class and the media want to give Donald Trump a coronation," the memo reads. "They say the race is over. They want to throw up their hands, after only 110,000 people have voted in a caucus in Iowa and say, well, I guess it’s Trump. That isn’t how this works."
The memo, authored by campaign manager Betsy Ankney, also says, "we aren't going anywhere," amidst speculation a poor showing in New Hampshire could spell the end of the campaign.
Even the end of the memo, which says "See y’all in South Carolina," shows the challenge Haley faces moving forward.
The next contest in Nevada will see Trump sweep the state's delegates since he's the only major candidate left in the party-run caucus, while Haley will win the state-run primary that has no impact on the nomination race.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also publicly asserted on Saturday that his path would run through South Carolina — before dropping out less than a day later.
Photos: Scenes from Tilton & Franklin
Ian Manning voted in Tilton this morning, his first time ever voting in an election. He's 20 but says in other elections the timing of his college classes got in the way of voting. He said after voting he felt "confident," but also like he wasn't sure his vote would matter. "At this point in my mind for the Republican Party, it's either Donald Trump or Nikki Haley, and I didn't vote for either of them," he said.
Jere Perkins said he came out to vote because "that's what the country's all about." He supported Trump in the primary. "The country's not going in the right direction, so, gotta get out there and vote." He said he's proud of New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation status. "We're live free or die. We stood up to them and said no, we're going to be first, and that's all there is to it."
Tamara Feener is the election moderator for Franklin's Ward 2. She says voting was slow this morning, but said it could be that her polling area is new this year. "We're anticipating it to be busy, but it hasn't been busy yet" she said around 9:00 am.
Scott Burns stood outside of a Franklin polling place in the cold Tuesday morning with a sign urging voters to write in Joe Biden's name. "This is my day, I love being out here," he said. But the primary feels a lot different this year for Burns -- not as exciting, he said.
NH kids spend their day off crafting
At Seacoast ArtSpot, best friends Leena Trout (right) and Lila O'Connell (left), both of Brentwood, spent primary day crafting. Lila said if she were president, her cabinet members would all be required to wear shorts or skirts (Lila wears shorts everyday).
Esmé Connell of Rye said she’d vote for her twin brother Ronan for president. Ronan (who said he’d vote for Esmé, too) says he’d run on an anti-bullying, anti-teasing and pro-dolphin platform.
Polls show Haley trailing Trump in New Hampshire
Trump continues to lead Haley in national polls heading into primary day, with one recent New Hampshire poll even showing his lead widening.
A Monmouth University-Washington Post poll released Monday shows Trump leading by a wide margin in New Hampshire, with 52% of potential voters saying they would choose him and 34% favoring Haley.
Monmouth notes that the poll was released before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out, but that DeSantis supporters polled were twice as likely to name Trump than Haley as their second choice.
Yes, pollsters say, Haley's support in New Hampshire has increased (by 16 points) since November. But it's also true that Trump's support hasn't wavered (in fact, it's seen a slight increase).
“Even with a bump in the number of Democratic leaners turning out in the Republican primary, Haley is not able to catch the front-runner,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. "Trump’s base continues to be more committed and more motivated than other primary voters."
The poll found that Republican potential primary voters in New Hampshire tend to trust Trump over Haley on a broad range of issues, including immigration, economic and foreign policy.
They are more divided when it comes to the candidates' handling of abortion, an issue that has motivated many voters since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
And when it comes to who will cast their vote today, the poll shows that voters find more of a sense of "inevitability" now than in 2016, which could mean lower turnout overall.
It found that 69% of Trump supporters and 55% of Haley supporters say they are extremely motivated to vote in the primary.
The stakes are high for Haley, who needs a strong finish to be able to stake her claim as the principal Trump alternative in hopes of consolidating the non-Trump vote and giving him a run in a long delegate race.
How climate change is, or isn’t, a factor for young Republicans in the NH primary
Brian Martinez, who leads the Northeast division for the American Conservation Coalition, says nationally, conservative voters are paying attention to candidates' approaches to climate change. Especially younger voters.
“Young people overwhelmingly believe that climate change is real because we're seeing it,” he said. “I grew up in Wisconsin. I can't tell you the last time I had a white Christmas.”
Martinez cited a 2023 poll from the Cres Forum, a non-profit focused on conservative climate solutions, which found more than 80% of Republicans under the age of 44 believe climate change is a threat.
“Candidates don't need to be 'the climate candidate,' but they need to realize that if they're going to win young people, they're going to need to come to the table on climate. And if they don't do that, then they're going to lose almost half of the voting block for 2024,” he said.
Dean Phillips says he's 'practicing democracy'
U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, a Democrat who represents Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District, said his run for president has already been a win.
“I'm practicing democracy. I've had the most extraordinary 90 days of my life. I've been reinvigorated about our great country. I've met people with the most people stories, the most heartbreaking stories,” Phillips told Boston Public Radio in Manchester, N.H., one day before the state's primary. “And I showed up. And that was my mission, is to demonstrate that in this country we do not do coronations, we have competitions.”
Phillips recognized that his campaign for the presidency is a long shot, butthe New Hampshire primary could be “the beginning of something.”
In NH, the opioid crisis hasn’t faded. But its role in the primary campaign has.
Teresa Gladstone, of Concord, lost her grandson Oliver to an overdose in 2020. In the years since, she's turned to advocacy and helped to organize local overdose awareness vigils.
Ahead of this year's presidential primary, Gladstone — who describes herself as a center-leaning independent — has been curious to hear how candidates plan to address addiction.
She thinks law enforcement and border security have a role to play. But she’d like to see candidates talk more about other solutions: increasing access to treatment, expanding harm reduction measures, breaking down stigma and addressing youth mental health.
“It's like a pot boiling over, with the anxiety and that sort of thing,” she said, describing the ease with which vulnerable young people can turn to substances. “And so they're more susceptible to drugs.”
But such nuance is largely missing from this year’s campaign trail. Most of the action is on the Republican side, and to the extent that those candidates have addressed the issue in public speeches and campaign stops in New Hampshire, they’ve mostly invoked fentanyl while calling for hardline policies at the southern border, harsher sentencing laws or a more aggressive U.S. stance toward China.
Biden has a rally today — but it’s in Virginia
President Biden and Vice President Harris are holding their first big rally of the year today — but it’s happening about 500 miles south of New Hampshire.
Biden, Harris and their spouses will be in Manassas, Va., for a late afternoon event focused on an issue they feel will drive Democrats to the polls in November: the loss of abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Harris, who is touring the country talking about the issue, told a fired-up crowd in Wisconsin yesterday that former President Donald Trump was to blame for new restrictions on abortion since Roe ended.
Today’s rally is a bit of counterprogramming for the New Hampshire primary, which Biden has ignored. He’s not on the ballot due to a Democratic dispute over which state should hold the first nominating contest – though Democrats in New Hampshire are writing him in, anyway.
NH secretary of state: 'We'll have results before the end of the night'
New Hampshire's secretary of state says the state is doing everything it can to conduct its presidential primary securely — and announce results quickly.
David Scanlan told NPR's Morning Edition last week that the 309 polling places across the state are run by local election officials, who are "the friends and neighbors of the voters, people that live in the community."
He added that his administration is promoting transparency at polling places, stressing that "there should be no secrets other than how a person voted."
When asked how confident he is that the state will have results by Tuesday night, Scanlan said, "Very."
"There's no question that New Hampshire has a long history of doing this in a very efficient and fair and accurate way, and this election will be no different," he added. "We will have results before the end of the night."
For reference: In 2020, The Associated Press reported the first results at 7:32 p.m. ET for Republicans and 7:34 p.m. for Democrats. The tabulation of votes on primary night ended at 1:12 a.m. for Democrats (with 93% of votes counted) and 1:14 a.m. for Republicans (with 92% counted).
One complicating issue this time around: President Biden is not on the Democratic ballot, but his allies are mounting a write-in campaign on his behalf, so officials will have to read and count those ballots.
Listen to the full interview here.
Polling places must be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET at a minimum, and all will be closed by 8 p.m. ET.
Some of the most sparsely populated towns have gained attention by using that flexibility to vote at midnight — including Dixville Notch, which made a name for itself by correctly predicting the eventual Republican nominee in every election between 1968 and 2012. As of 2022, it had a population of five people.
This morning, six voted in Dixville Notch, all of them for Nikki Haley.
Why does the U.S. hold primary elections and caucuses?
Every other Tuesday, Civics 101 hosts Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice join NHPR’s All Things Considered host Julia Furukawa to talk about how our democratic institutions actually work.
New Hampshire is holding its presidential primary election today. In the coming weeks, other states will hold their own primaries and caucuses as well. Nick and Julia talk about why and how we select presidential candidates through popular choice.
Click here to listen to this episode of Refresher Course and get a transcript.
You can listen to all Civics 101 episodes here, or wherever you get your podcasts.
How predictive are the New Hampshire primaries of the presidential nominees?
New Hampshire has a better track record than Iowa in terms of primary winners going on to secure their party's nomination.
How often has the New Hampshire winner become the nominee in recent election cycles? We looked at data going back to 2000 to get an idea.
Democrats who won New Hampshire:
- 2020: Bernie Sanders (lost nomination to Joe Biden)
- 2016: Bernie Sanders (lost nomination to Hillary Clinton)
- 2012: Barack Obama (won nomination and reelection)
- 2008: Hillary Clinton (lost nomination to Barack Obama)
- 2004: John Kerry (won the nomination, lost in the general election)
- 2000: Al Gore (won the nomination, lost in the general election)
Republicans who won New Hampshire:
- 2020: Donald Trump (won nomination, lost in the general election)
- 2016: Donald Trump (won nomination and presidency)
- 2012: Mitt Romney (won the nomination, lost in the general election)
- 2008: John McCain (won nomination, lost in the general election)
- 2004: George W. Bush (won nomination and reelection)
- 2000: John McCain (lost nomination to George W. Bush)
What Sununu's support could mean for Haley's 2024 campaign
Gov. Chis Sununu endorsed Nikki Haley for president back in December during a joint appearance at Manchester’s McIntyre Ski Area. Sununu’s announcement ended a public discernment process that started in June, when the governor abandoned his own potential presidential run.
“It doesn’t get any better than this — to go and get endorsed by the ‘Live Free or Die’ governor is about as rock-solid of an endorsement as we could hope for,” Haley told supporters.
Since the summer, Sununu has repeatedly promised to throw his political weight behind the Republican candidate who he believes is best equipped to derail former President Donald Trump, who he insists “can’t win” in a general election in 2024.
Who is Rep. Dean Phillips, the Minnesota Democrat challenging Biden?
Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, who turned 55 over the weekend, is the only elected official challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination.
He entered the race in October, playing up his age as his main advantage over the oldest president in U.S. history.
Phillips has worked in the private and public sectors, as a former multi-millionaire gelato and liquor tycoon (Talenti, anyone?) turned three-term Democratic congressman.
He says that experience, along with his bipartisan and centrist policy platforms, can help relieve economic hardship for families and repair what he’s described as a “broken political system.”
But he has struggled to make a substantive policy case against Biden. He is staking his bid on New Hampshire, which has no delegates in 2024 because of its decision to defy the Democratic National Committee and hold its primary first again.
As a result of the attention Phillips has gotten in New Hampshire, there’s now a race principally between Phillips and a write-in campaign for Biden that’s being run by supporters of Biden through a super PAC called, “Granite for America.” Also competing is Marianne Williamson, the self-help author, who ran and lost in 2020 as well.
Notably, it's possible that Phillips’ run could actually hurt Republican Nikki Haley in the primary.
The state allows independents to cast a ballot in either contest, but only one. This could mean that some moderates who otherwise may have chosen to participate in the GOP primary and cast a vote against Trump, could instead choose to participate in the Democratic primary to cast one against Biden.
There’s some anecdotal evidence to suggest there are independents who would have cast votes for either Haley or Chris Christie (before he dropped out), who are now at least considering voting on the Democratic side.
Groups supporting Christie have explicitly been appealing to Democrats to switch over and send a message to Trump. One mailer says with a picture of Trump, “Don’t let this guy back in the White House. Stop Trump. Switch parties ... and vote in the Republican primary.”
NH authorities investigating robocall that uses AI Biden voice
The New Hampshire Attorney General's office is investigating a robocall that uses what appears to be an artificially generated voice that sounds like President Biden.
The message was sent Sunday evening, and begins with the phrase “What a bunch of malarkey,” a common saying used by Biden.
The artificial voice then encourages people to skip today’s state primary, and save their votes for November.
“New Hampshire voters should disregard the content of this message entirely,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement Monday. “Voting in the New Hampshire Presidential Primary Election does not preclude a voter from additionally voting in the November General Election.”
A quick recap of what has happened since the Iowa caucuses
A lot has happened in election-land since last Monday's Iowa caucuses. Here are some of the highlights:
GOP candidates dropped out: Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy suspended his campaign on Monday night, followed by former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday morning. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ended his run and endorsed Trump on Sunday, saying, "We can't go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form or warmed over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents."
Trump attended his second NYC defamation trial: The former president spent time on the campaign trail as well as in a Manhattan courtroom, where a judge is hearing a defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a department store fitting room in the 1990s. The judge has already ruled that Trump defamed Carroll in 2019, and is now deciding what he owes in damages. The case is expected to wrap up this week. Last week in court was decidedly dramatic.
Candidates made their final pitches to New Hampshire voters: Trump, Haley and Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips have been holding events aimed at convincing Granite State voters to support them. Haley is looking to keep her campaign alive, Phillips wants to unseat Biden and Trump just wants to skip to the general election.
Organizers make a push for Democratic voters to write in ‘cease-fire’
Tom Maddock, organizer of the Peacemakers for Palestinians vigil, stood on Main Street outside of Congresswoman Annie Kuster’s office in Nashua on Friday.
As cars drove by, some drivers honked their horns. A small group had gathered holding signs that read “Write-in ceasefire” and “Ceasefire now.”
Maddock said they’re asking the state’s congressional delegation to take a call for a cease fire.
There are some key differences between New Hampshire and Iowa voters
Both New Hampshire and Iowa’s GOP electorates are overwhelmingly white, but there are some key differences.
Iowa is more rural and about 60% of GOP caucus-goers historically have identified as white, evangelical or born-again Christians.
New Hampshire is more suburban and more moderate, partially because independents are allowed to participate in the primaries. Unaffiliated voters make up about 40% of New Hampshire voters, so they can make a big impact.
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Notably, New Hampshire has a better track record than Iowa of its winner becoming the Republican nominee.
That's been the case in each of the last three open presidential primaries without an incumbent Republican president on the ballot, and 6 of 8 GOP primaries since 1976. In that same window, only three Iowa winners went on to become the Republican nominee.
Why is New Hampshire so important?
New Hampshire has voted first in primaries for more than 100 years. People in the state take particular pride in the kind of retail campaigning and town halls traditionally required to win the state.
Of course, Donald Trump has upended those traditions, as he's engaged in far fewer of those kinds of events, but New Hampshire has had a rebellious streak.
It has resurrected the campaigns of candidates thought to be finished in the primary or solidified a candidate's position. In 2008, Republican John McCain, who had run out of money and was trailing in the polls, did more town halls in New Hampshire than anyone, won there and went on to the Republican nomination.
Bill Clinton's closer-than-expected second-place finish in 1992 led to him being labeled the "Comeback Kid," and he won the nomination.
Sixteen years later, Clinton's wife, Hillary Clinton, was trailing Barack Obama in the polls after his surprise Iowa win. But Hillary Clinton pulled out the victory in New Hampshire. While she didn't win the nomination, her New Hampshire win gave new life to her campaign and led to the long, drawn-out primary fight that ensued.
On the Republican side, the state has been a good predictor of who wins the nomination. Since 1976, in primaries in which an incumbent Republican president wasn't on the ballot, six of the eight New Hampshire winners went on to win the nomination, including the last three. In that same stretch, only three Iowa winners became the nominee — and none of the last three.
It's why former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu used to say about the two early nominating states that "Iowa picks corn; New Hampshire picks presidents."
NH poll workers bracing for a wave of write-ins and other potential curveballs
Election officials aren’t just stocking up on ballots, Sharpies and newly redesigned “I Voted” stickers for the upcoming presidential primary. They’re also stockpiling poll workers.
In Keene, the city is more than doubling its roster of election volunteers, from 70 to 150 people.
“We reached out to the Chamber of Commerce, various large businesses downtown that often allow their employees to do a day for civic service,” Keene City Clerk Patricia Little said of her recruitment efforts.
The workload is expected to be heavier this year in large part due to an influx of write-in votes on the Democratic side, since President Joe Biden declined to add his name to the New Hampshire primary ballot. But there are other considerations — like a new voter ID law for first-time registrants, new election technology in some towns and heightened scrutiny on the election process in general.
We asked, you answered: Does the 2024 presidential primary feel different?
New Hampshire has held the first-in-the-nation primary for over 100 years. But this year, the Democratic National Committee decided to move South Carolina first on its nominating calendar, and incumbent President Joe Biden is not on the ballot in the Granite State.
So, for this month's Big Question, we've been asking you: “Does the 2024 New Hampshire presidential primary feel different than previous years?"
Here’s what some of you said.
New Hampshire could be Nikki Haley's last chance
Today could be one of the last chances for a truly competitive race for the Republican nomination.
Although it is only the second primary in a months-long nominating process, Nikki Haley is now the only major candidate left to challenge former President Donald Trump.
"It's now one fella and one lady left," Haley said Sunday, telling her supporters that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had dropped out.
A couple of days earlier, at Grill 603 in Milford, N.H., the former South Carolina governor delivered her now-familiar pitch that she is the most electable Republican in the race.
"If you look, there was a poll that came out today: Trump is down by 7 points," she said, pausing long enough for the crowd to begin to clap. But she had to clarify: "Well, this is against Joe Biden, by the way. Trump is down by 7 points. And I beat Biden."
It's not clear which poll she was referring to, though she was talking about a hypothetical general election result and not the primary. There aren't any public polls showing her ahead of Trump in New Hampshire.
As she closes out her campaign in New Hampshire, Haley is imploring voters to give her a chance to prevent a Biden-Trump rematch that few in America seem to want.
"Do you want to be scared in November or not?" she asked in a call and response near the end of her stump speech. "Do you want your kids to be proud in November or not? Then let's do it."
Even if winning New Hampshire weren't a reach, Ben Ginsberg, a retired Republican attorney who is a leading expert on the nominating process, says the deck is stacked against her.
"This race is effectively over," he explained of the delegate math. "I mean, even if Nikki Haley can win in New Hampshire, she'll still have a real uphill slog. And she'll have to win, absolutely have to win her home state of South Carolina at the end of February."
And right now she's trailing badly in polls of South Carolina voters.
Ginsberg says no Republican candidate has won the nomination without their home state. But Haley insists she knows how to win in South Carolina and will have plenty of time to build up momentum. Trump is angling to knock her out before she ever gets that chance. He's already saying it's time to unify the Republican Party — behind him, of course.
And watch more from NPR's Sarah McCammon, who's talking to voters in New Hampshire:
Millsfield and Hart's Location opted out of midnight voting for 2024
The tiny Coos County community of Millsfield was the first to start New Hampshire's midnight voting tradition. Records show townspeople cast the nation's first presidential primary ballots at midnight in 1936.
Dixville Notch, right next door, has typically captured most of the national spotlight. But Millsfield and Hart’s Location, which celebrates itself as the smallest town in New Hampshire, have also long participated in midnight voting.
But this year, Cote said Millsfield residents decided to forgo the midnight vote, due in part to an aging population.
Midnight voting is also not taking place in Hart's Location for the first time since 1996 for New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary, according to Town Moderator Les Schoof and Selectmen Chairman Mark Dindorf.
Said Dindorf, “The challenge has been mounting in terms of the increasing amount of paperwork and reporting required in the aftermath of the past election and to manage the added write-ins was an added challenge. It would be difficult for us to turn around.”
All six votes in Dixville Notch, which continued its midnight voting tradition this year, went to Nikki Haley.
Nikki Haley wins all 6 votes in Dixville Notch, the first town to vote
The first place to vote in the New Hampshire primary was Dixville Notch, a remote resort town just 20 miles south of the Canadian border.
It's long been one of the small towns that has proudly voted at midnight on primary day, but this year was alone in doing so.
Dixville Notch has six residents, and the same number of registered voters: four Republicans and two independents.
All six voted for Nikki Haley this morning.
"A great start to a great day in New Hampshire,” Haley later said in a statement. “Thank you Dixville Notch!"
Dixville Notch has voted at midnight since 1960, when a resident got the state legislature to approve the township as a standalone voting precinct. That first year, all nine voters unanimously chose Richard Nixon.
The tiny community got outsized attention in the decades that followed, in large part because its results predicted the eventual Republican nominee in every election from 1968 to 2012.
That streak was broken in 2016, when residents voted 3-2 for former Ohio Gov. John Kasich over Trump.
Now, it's seen as more of a curiosity than a predictor. The Associated Press reports that voters were outnumbered more than 10 to 1 by reporters.
Voters, some of them wary, head to the polls today
It's finally primary day in New Hampshire, but for many Granite State voters, a looming concern is the next general election, and the possibility that the 2024 presidential race will boil down to a repeat of the last one: A choice between President Biden and former President Trump.
NHPR recently spoke to voters from around the state - here's what some of them had to say:
What effect will DeSantis dropping out have in New Hampshire?
In short, not much.
The Florida governor didn’t focus much time or attention on New Hampshire, especially in the last few months. He went all in on Iowa. Three outside groups supporting him and DeSantis’ campaign poured in more than $35 million in campaign ads combined there — and finished a distant second place to Donald Trump.
By comparison, Never Back Down, one of the super PACs that was supporting DeSantis, spent $8 million on ads in New Hampshire, but $0 since Dec. 3.
Nothing.
DeSantis was pulling in about 5% of the vote in an average of the polls. Those voters have to go somewhere, but, according to a Suffolk University/NBC10 Boston/Boston Globe tracking poll, after DeSantis dropped out, Trump and Haley essentially split his support.
How robust and real is the NH Primary these days?
Long before the Democratic National Committee announced plans in December 2022 to boot New Hampshire from the front of the line, the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary has been under threat or deemed over the hill. The Associated Press called it “little more than a fairy tale.”
Gone may seem the days when presidential hopefuls had local campaign offices, staff in every county, or a whole lot of yard signs. They aren’t looking for volunteers to stuff envelopes and make phone calls like they once did. But they are visiting the state. A lot of their voter outreach is now via social media, where the conversation is from a distance and goes in one direction.
Get the rest of the story here.
NHPR explored the history, impact and future of the N.H. Presidential Primary in our podcast 'Stranglehold.' Click here to check it out.
There are 21 people on the Democratic ballot, but Biden isn't one of them. Here's why
While much of the focus is on the Republican primary race, a lot is going on with Democrats.
The Democratic ballot includes 21 people, including Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., and self-help author Marianne Williamson. Others include artist Paperboy Love Prince, satirical activist Vermin Supreme and President Boddie.
President Biden, however, is not on the ballot.
New Hampshire's primary won't be counted in this year's Democratic primary, because the Democratic Party demoted it in favor of South Carolina (which Biden won in 2020).
Because New Hampshire has a state law requiring it to hold the country's first primary — which it has done for more than a century — it's still voting ahead of South Carolina's Feb. 3 primary.
But its delegates won't be seated at the Democratic convention in the summer, and anyone who puts their name on the state ballot could face sanctions from the national party.
Still, it puts Biden in a tough spot — losing the New Hampshire primary would be embarrassing, to say the least. So New Hampshire's Democratic establishment is rallying behind a write-in campaign for Biden.
More than a thousand Democratic volunteers signed up to get the word out to family and friends, NPR's Tamara Keith reports. Their mission is two-fold: to get Democrats to vote in the first place (since many may think there's no reason to show up), and to write Biden's name on the ballot.
Read more here about the Democrats' unusual New Hampshire primary.
Voting in the 2024 NH Primary
What are we voting for?
In most places, you’ll only be able to vote for president, not any state or local offices. The election on Jan. 23 will help to decide who Democrats and Republicans nominate for president in the general election in November.
Who can vote in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire voters must meet four basic requirements to cast a ballot here:
- You must be at least 18 years old at the time of the election.
- You must be a U.S. citizen.
- You must be who you say you are when registering to vote.
- You must live in New Hampshire and consider it your home for voting purposes. (Here’s more information on how the state views voter residency.)
Where do I vote?
If you plan to vote in-person on Election Day, you can find your local polling place here. For more information about your local polling hours or locations, visit the New Hampshire Secretary of State's website, or contact your local clerk directly.
What to know as primary day gets underway in New Hampshire
New Hampshire holds the country's first primary election today, just over a week after the Iowa caucuses. Now the GOP field has shrunk, the Democratic ballot is controversial and the stakes remain high.
NPR will bring you live coverage of the primary here on this live blog all day and in radio special coverage starting at 7 p.m. ET. Stick with us for the latest news and analysis from reporters in New Hampshire, D.C. and beyond.
In the meantime, here's what you need to know:
Time: According to the New Hampshire Secretary of State's office, all polling places must be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET. Some polls extend their hours both early and late, but all polls will close by 8 p.m. ET.
Location: There are 221 towns in the state of New Hampshire, and they each set their own time to begin voting. Some smaller towns, like Dixville Notch (pop: 5), famously start voting at midnight on primary day.
Delegates: There are 22 Republican delegates at stake, or less than 1% of the total number of delegates to the Republican National Convention. Delegates are assigned proportionally by statewide vote (13) and congressional district (6). The other three are RNC members from the state. There are no Democratic delegates on the line because of a rift between the national and state party over New Hampshire's date in the primary calendar.
Candidates: There are more than 20 candidates on both the Democratic and Republican ballots. At this point, there are just two leading Republican candidates: Former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. President Biden is running as an incumbent, but is not on the ballot (because of that rift) — though Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips is. There's a huge push for Democratic voters to show up anyway and write in Biden's name.
Voters: New Hampshire's primary is run by the state — as opposed to the parties — and allows independents (aka undeclared voters) to cast a ballot in either the Republican or Democratic primary. Undeclared voters make up almost 40% of the state's registered voters.
Turnout: Secretary of State David Scanlan is predicting a record turnout of 322,000 for the GOP primary. The Republican turnout record is 282,979 set in 2016. New Hampshire has traditionally had one of the highest participation rates in the country.
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