New Hampshire primary 2024: Trump projected to win, Haley vows to fight on
Trump and Biden had strong showings in the first-in-the-nation primary.
Former President Donald Trump will win the 2024 New Hampshire GOP primary, ABC News projects. As of 10 p.m. Eastern, Trump was ahead by less than 10 percentage points. While that represents a slight overperformance of polling for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, even a close loss is a big hit to her prospects, as she had staked her campaign on a strong performance in the Granite State. Haley spoke shortly after the projection to emphasize that "this race is far from over," while Trump (and his allies) amped up calls for her to drop out.
ABC News has also projected that President Joe Biden will win the Granite State's Democratic primary. A comfortable write-in victory for him despite not even being on the ballot is a good sign for the incumbent.
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Why might voters choose Haley?
One issue where Haley stands out is in foreign policy. Her history as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations gives her experience, and her policy positions place her at odds with the frontrunner. The Republican Party has followed Trump's lead in recent year's and become more isolationist. But Haley has taken a more traditional stance and has called for continuing aid to Ukraine, an issue that's becoming less popular with her party's voters. But she also has taken a hard line against China and supports continuing aid for Israel, which the Republican base also supports.
—Monica Potts, 538
Where Trump stands relative to 2016
Looking at towns where the vote is mostly counted, Trump is overperforming his 2016 benchmarks — but then again, he should be, since in 2016 he won with 35 percent of the vote in a many-candidate field. Trump will hope that the returns look like those in Farmington, where he's currently up 29 percentage points compared to his 2016 margin. But Haley will hope they look more like Newmarket or Conway, where Trump is only up by 15 or 16 percentage points.
— Dan Hopkins, 538 contributor
New Hampshire voters look at Trump differently than Iowa voters
If voters in New Hampshire are thinking about the general election, Dan, that could be a problem for Trump. Last week, just 52 percent of Iowa caucusgoers voted for Trump. But according to a December YouGov/CBS News poll, likely New Hampshire GOP primary voters view the former president differently than those in Iowa. In that survey, 64 percent of likely voters in Iowa said that Trump would definitely beat Biden in November, while only 51 percent of New Hampshire voters said the same. Voters who said they were considering other candidates also had different reasons in the two states: 70 percent of likely New Hampshire voters who were considering voting against Trump said that one reason, of those provided to them, was that Trump is controversial, while only 57 percent of Iowans considering other candidates said the same. And more New Hampshirites were concerned about Trump's ability to beat Biden than Iowans considering other candidates.
—Mary Radcliffe, 538
A close race on the GOP side
Again per the Associated Press via The New York Times, Trump leads Haley 53 percent to 46 percent with 12 percent of the estimated vote counted. That's closer than the polls foresaw, but obviously not good enough for Haley so far.
—Nathaniel Rakich, 538
Trump’s evangelical base is missing in New Hampshire
New Hampshire is one of the least religious states in the country. That might help explain why Trump’s closest competitor, Haley, has closed in on his lead a bit there: He’s at 54 percent to her 36 percent. While in 2016, evangelical Christians and regular churchgoers were reluctant to throw their support behind Trump, this key Republican voting bloc is now his solid base. And they’re missing in this first-in-the-nation primary.
In Iowa last week, Trump improved on his 2016 caucuses performance by 35 points in the most evangelical areas of the state, according to a Washington Post analysis. That’s just the latest evidence that evangelical voters are his to lose. In the 2020 general election, he won 59 percent of voters who attend church at least monthly, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. More than that, Trump moved many of his voters to identify as evangelical Christian, regardless of their church attendance habits.
Evangelicals remain one of the most motivated, active parts of the Republican Party nationwide, and, without that, Trump’s campaign might be missing a little steam. In addition to being less religious, New Hampshire residents have other identity markers that pull them further from Trump’s base. It’s one of the most educated states in the country, and has had an active Libertarian Party. In this respect, New Hampshire Republicans are a bit different from their fellow party members in other states. All of these factors might be giving Haley a small opening, but Trump is still favored to win.
Looking beyond that toward November, New Hampshire has voted for the Democratic candidate in every election save one since 1992. So while the eventual Republican nominee will have a shot, the less religious nature of New Hampshire might be a sign that the state is simply becoming more solidly Democratic like its New England neighbors, at least when it comes to presidential elections.
—Monica Potts, 538