Trump eyes a decisive victory to drive the former South Carolina governor out of the race, as Haley has pledged to stay in the game even if she loses today.
Polls close in New Hampshire at 8 p.m. ET. Follow here for live updates.
Concord Voters Sound Off After Casting Ballots
CONCORD, N.H.—As the hours left to vote in the New Hampshire presidential primary ticked down, voters exiting the polls in Concord shared their picks with The Epoch Times.
Among them was independent voter Roy Schweiker, who said he voted for North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum because he thought he was the best candidate for the job.
“And yes, I understand he’s dropped out of the race, but I’d like to give him some enthusiasm. Maybe next time.”
Mr. Schweiker added that he found the two leading candidates—President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump—to be “very poor choices” and he hoped there would be a third-party option if they became the respective Democratic and Republican nominees.
Meanwhile, Sheri and William Haubrich said they’d cast their ballots for former President Donald Trump.
“When Trump was in, I paid $250 a month for my heating fuel. And since Biden’s in, it’s up to $550,” Ms. Haubrich said. “$550 from $250 is quite the jump. And I don’t know about you, but my salary has not gone up one bit.”
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She pointed to President Trump’s stance on immigration as another contributing factor, noting that she wanted him to finish building the border wall.
“And even though maybe I’d like him to not talk as much, because that’s what aggravates people, I do like what he does,” she said.
Those sentiments were echoed by another voter named Steve, who did not share his last name but said he just felt that life was better under the 45th president.
“He’s not well-liked in this country, I understand that—you know, all those words, and whatnot,” he said. “But at the same time, I think when he was president, our country was in better shape—low gas prices, other countries feared us, everybody had money, everybody had a job.”
“I voted for Donald Trump. As a Christian, I’m not looking for a pastor-in-chief, but I’m looking for somebody who’s going to treat Israel right. And I feel like Democrats have been very antagonistic toward Christians and Jews. And Nikki Haley would be like Joe Biden with a dress, basically.” Greg Salts, 60, Manchester, N.H.
“I wrote in Joe Biden. … We have a law that we need to have first-in-the-nation primary and it has put our officials and our voters in a tough position; it’s not very appreciated. But I ultimately decided to vote for Joe Biden because of the progress that he and his party have made over the last four years.” Lauren Zielinski, 36, Manchester, N.H.
Trump: New Hampshire’s Undeclared Voters Are a ‘Wildcard’
Former President Donald Trump said he takes exception to New Hampshire’s primary election rules.
“You do have a wildcard here. You have people that could vote that aren’t Republicans,” President Trump said in an impromptu press scrum outside a polling place in Londonderry, New Hampshire, at about 1:30 p.m. Eastern. “What’s that all about? Nobody ever saw anything like that.”
In New Hampshire, home to some of the loosest voting laws in the United States, registered so-called undeclared voters can choose to vote as a Republican or a Democrat presidential primary and then revert to undeclared status on the same day at the polling site.
According to the New Hampshire Secretary of State, the undeclared voters make up the largest portion of voters in New Hampshire. However, combined, the committed Republican and Democratic voting population is larger than the undeclared voting bloc.
President Trump went on to say he “loves” New Hampshire because he won the Granite State’s Republican primary in 2016, with 35 percent of the vote. The New Hampshire win followed up a narrow loss in the 2016 Republican Party of Iowa’s Caucus to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
“I love New Hampshire, and they love me,” President Trump said. “We’re going to get their energy costs down. You know, they have the highest energy costs in the entire nation. And we’re going to get their energy down 50 percent in one year. That’s my promise to New Hampshire.”
Asked about his last major rival for the 2024 Republican Party nomination, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, President Trump said he “doesn’t care” if she keeps running.
“Let her do whatever she wants, it doesn’t matter,” he said.
President Trump was also shouted numerous questions about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who dropped out of the race on Jan. 21. President Trump said he forgives the candidates who formerly ran against him.
“I’m a very forgiving person,” President Trump said. “I try.”
Before he left, President Trump was asked what he thinks the greatest threat to the country is.
“I actually think the radical left is a tremendous threat to our country,” President Trump said. “I think the RINO Republicans are just stupid people.”
Polling Place in Sanbornton
“I’m not really a supporter of anyone, but I support the person who will check the growth of government, spending in particular. The choices aren’t great.” Richard Grant, Sanbornton, N.H.
“[Voter turnout] has been steady all morning. The vast majority are Republican voters, which makes sense given the cycle we’re in.” Tim Lang, town moderator, Sanbornton, N.H.
A voter in Sanbornton, New Hampshire, prepares to check one of the 24 names appearing on the presidential primary ballot, which includes the names of candidates who have suspended their campaigns.
The write-in campaign for President Joe Biden is underway at the historic Town Hall in Sanbornton, N.H. About 500 people had voted here by 11:30 a.m. Around 1,000 of the 2,400 registered voters are expected to participate in this primary.
Dean Phillips: Democrats Are ‘Completely Delusional Right Now’
As presidential primary voters headed to the polls in New Hampshire on Tuesday, Democratic presidential contender Dean Phillips said the current state of the Democratic Party is “completely delusional.”
The Minnesota congressman said he had recently taken the opportunity to speak with dozens of Republican voters as they lined up outside one of former President Donald Trump’s campaign events.
The crowd, he added, was “diverse” and consisted of many who had never attended one of the former president’s events before.
“My party is completely delusional right now, and somebody had to wake us up. And if that’s my job, so be it,” he said.
The congressman also said that he would still prefer another term of President Joe Biden over four more years of President Trump. But he stressed that if the former wants to be reelected, he’s going to have to “get in the game” by debating and making his case to the voters.
“The president is doing nothing. … How many interviews has he done? He’s not doing town halls, he’s not showing up,” he said, noting that he had hoped his candidacy would prompt President Biden to do so.
“I’m trying to do him a favor to show up. And if he does, and he does really well in the primaries, and suddenly his numbers rise and he can beat Donald Trump, my goodness, I’d get behind him in a heartbeat. But get in the game.”
—Samantha Flom
Haley Wants A Stronger Performance in New Hampshire Than Iowa
The Haley campaign is adjusting expectations after its biggest backer in the Granite State, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, was calling for a victory in prior weeks.
“We want to be stronger in New Hampshire than we were in Iowa, then we want to be stronger in South Carolina than we were in New Hampshire,” former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said in a CNN interview held in Manchester, New Hampshire, around midday on Tuesday. “When you run an election. You just want to keep getting stronger and stronger and stronger. That’s our goal.”
In the Iowa Caucus, Ms. Haley finished in third place with 19.1 percent of the vote. Former President Donald Trump won with 51 percent.
Ms. Haley, who was interviewed by CNN’s Dana Bash alongside Mr. Sununu, faced a number of questions about the state of the campaign and the expectations for its performance in today’s New Hampshire presidential primary.
Mr. Sununu backpedaled on his earlier comment about winning the primary. He said Ms. Haley could fare well if voters show up on Tuesday.
“We’re out there today; people are coming in, not just in the morning; there’s a steady stream of voters coming in all over the state,” Mr. Sununu said. “So the high voter turnout bodes very well for the challenger.”
Ms. Bash followed up with a question about a campaign memo signed by Ms. Haley’s campaign manager, Betsy Ankney. That memo pledged Ms. Haley would continue to run for the Republican Party’s nomination through so-called Super Tuesday on March 5.
“We just put down a $4 million ad buy in South Carolina,” Ms. Haley said. “We have been running a very smart, strong campaign. We had 14 candidates. It’s now down to two. That’s not because I was lucky. That’s because I outsmarted the rest of them and outworked the rest of them.”
Ms. Haley was then asked about her polling figures. The latest poll in New Hampshire shows she trails President Trump by a margin of more than 20 percent.
“I don’t even want to talk about numbers, and I don’t think you all should either,” Ms. Haley said. “The only numbers I care about is, are people getting out to the polls? What we saw today, people are excited to get out and vote.”
—Austin Alonzo
Haley: Trump Has Support of ‘Political Elite,’ Not GOP
HAMPTON, N.H.—Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley pushed back Monday on claims that the GOP has been getting behind former President Donald Trump in his bid to reclaim the White House.
“I think it’s not the party uniting around President Trump. It’s the political elite that are uniting around President Trump. And the political elite have never been with me my entire career,” the former South Carolina governor told reporters in Hampton, New Hampshire.
Citing her support for congressional term limits and competency tests for candidates, she asserted that she has “always fought the political elite.”
She added, “I fight the political class, Donald Trump has the political class surrounding him. That’s not what Americans want. The political class has gotten us into this mess. We need a normal real person to get us out of this mess.”
Ms. Haley’s comments pose a sharp contrast to those of President Trump and his supporters, who have pegged her as the “establishment” candidate for the support she has enjoyed from “Democrats, Wall Street, and globalists.”
In a Saturday news release, the Trump campaign contended: “If it weren’t for radical Democrats meddling in the GOP primary, Nikki would be polling in the single digits.”
—Samantha Flom and Jackson Richman
Haley Campaign Says It Raised $1.5 Million After DeSantis Exit
The Haley campaign says it got a $1.5 million boost after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race.
In a Jan. 23 X post, Paul Steinhauser, a national political reporter with Fox News, said the campaign is claiming it raised $1.5 million since Mr. DeSantis suspended his campaign on Jan. 21.
In an email to The Epoch Times, Olivia Perez-Cubas, a spokeswoman for the Haley campaign, confirmed this report.
In a Jan. 23 release attributed to former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley’s campaign manager Betsy Ankney, the campaign reiterated it is not going anywhere and will not even begin to assess where it stands until after the so-called Super Tuesday on March 5.
“With the political class and the DC elites lining up behind Donald Trump, the Haley campaign has a simple message: in America, we have elections, not coronations,” Ms. Ankney said in the release.
—Austin Alonzo
Final Poll Shows Trump Widening Lead Over Haley
New Hampshire voters could push former President Donald Trump closer to the nomination on Tuesday, according to the final poll conducted by Suffolk University.
On Jan. 23, the day of New Hampshire’s presidential primary, the Boston Globe and other media published the final Granite State poll. It showed President Trump may have 60 percent of the support on Tuesday. His final major Republican opponent, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, may win 38 percent percent of the vote.
The poll was conducted from Jan. 21 to Jan. 22 and reported a margin of error of 4.4 percent. It surveyed 500 likely Republican primary voters. About 1 percent of respondents said they were still undecided.
The Suffolk polls, released daily since Jan. 17, showed a steady rise in support for both President Trump and Ms. Haley. Nevertheless, Ms. Haley is not closing the gap. Instead, the final Suffolk poll shows President Trump is enjoying his most comprehensive lead in its poll to date.
—Austin Alonzo
Democrat Calls for Federal Probe of Faked New Hampshire Robocalls
Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, is calling for a federal investigation into fake robocalls that encouraged New Hampshire voters to sit out the state’s presidential primary election.
The calls, placed over the weekend, reportedly told voters that their vote “makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday,” and that voting this week would only help Republicans “in their quest to elect Donald Trump again.”
The recorded message also allegedly used an imitation of President Joe Biden’s voice generated by artificial intelligence.
According to the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, the state’s Department of Justice has already opened its own investigation.
“These messages appear to be an unlawful attempt to disrupt the New Hampshire Presidential Primary Election and to suppress New Hampshire voters,” his office said in a Monday press release. “New Hampshire voters should disregard the content of this message entirely.”
—Samantha Flom
Trump Sets Sights on Biden, Second Term
With the Republican presidential primaries still underway, former President Donald Trump is already looking ahead to the general election in November.
In a prerecorded “Fox & Friends” interview that aired on Jan. 23, the president was asked about claims that he was more interested in the general election than the primaries.
“I think that’s true,” he said. “We have a very big job. We have to beat the Democrats. We have to beat Biden—I mean, he is the worst president we’ve ever had, and he’s destroying our country.”
President Trump added that he’s also been mulling who he wants to bring to Washington with him for his second administration.
“I think about it all the time—I can’t tell you now, [but] I want the best people.”
He noted that when he was first elected, he was an outsider in Washington and “didn’t know anybody.” But now, the situation is very different.
“Now, I know everybody. I know the good, the bad, the dumb, the smart—I know everybody. And we’re going to have an incredible team, right from the beginning.”
—Samantha Flom
Rep. Byron Donalds: ‘This Race Is Over’
LACONIA, N.H.—Former President Donald Trump’s former presidential primary rivals joined him and other prominent Republicans on the campaign trail Monday in New Hampshire just hours before the polls were set to open.
The clear message echoed by former contenders Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum—as well as Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida—was that the race is now over.
“This race is over. I’m telling you, this thing’s over,” Mr. Donalds told The Epoch Times. “I mean, obviously, we have to get the job done tomorrow. I think we will. As long as that holds, we’re pretty much done.”
While former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is still holding out for a come-from-behind victory Tuesday night, more and more of her fellow Republicans—and South Carolinians—are backing President Trump.
“With how bad Joe Biden has been, we need somebody who can step in on Day One,” and fix things, Mr. Donalds told The Epoch Times and other news outlets. But Ms. Haley and some of the other former candidates, he said, “couldn’t do that.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Burgum said the level of enthusiasm behind President Trump is what launched him to a landslide victory in Iowa, and that it would do the same in New Hampshire.
“Every terrorist group in the world is going to be watching these results because when they see that Donald Trump is going to win the nomination, they know they better start making some different plans.”
—Janice Hisle and Samantha Flom
Haley Says She’s Going to South Carolina Even If She Doesn’t Finish Strong in New Hampshire
HAMPTON, N.H.—Nikki Haley struck a defiant tone on Jan. 23 as New Hampshire voters cast their ballot in the GOP primary.
“We’re going to South Carolina. We have put in the ad buy. We’re there,” she said outside a polling place in response to a question from The Epoch Times about whether she will stay in the race if she does not have a strong showing in the Granite State.
The primary in South Carolina — where she was governor between 2011 and 2017 before becoming U.S. ambassador to the United Nations — is on Feb. 24.
“This has always been a marathon. It’s never been a sprint,” said Ms. Haley. “We wanted to be strong in Iowa. We want to be stronger than that New Hampshire. We’re gonna be even stronger than that in South Carolina. We’re running the tape.”
Ms. Haley had a third-place finish in the Jan. 15 Iowa Caucus.
Ms. Haley has talked about having a strong finish in New Hampshire, though she declined to specify what that would look like.
“We’ll know strong when the numbers come in. It’s not like a certain number,” she said. “I don’t go there and say, ‘Oh, I have to have this number, I have to have that number.’”
Former President Donald Trump is expected to win what is the first-in-the-nation primary as he has been dominating in the polls.
—Jackson Richman
Why Biden Won’t Be on the Ballot
A fight between the Democratic National Committee and the Granite State means that President Joe Biden won’t be on the ballot today. Read more about it here.
Idaho Senator and Congressman Endorse Trump
Former President Donald Trump picked up several endorsements on Monday, including two Idaho congressmen, ahead of New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary on Jan. 23.
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) announced their endorsement of President Trump on Jan. 22, saying that America was stronger under his leadership compared to what is now under President Joe Biden.
“Today I add my voice to the growing number of people standing behind Donald Trump because we know he will put America and Americans first,” Mr. Crapo said in a statement.
All four members of Idaho’s congressional delegation have endorsed President Trump. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho) announced their endorsement of the former president earlier this month.
“America was stronger, more prosperous, and safer under the leadership of President Trump,” Mr. Simpson said in a statement, adding that President Biden “is fundamentally out-of-touch with the American people.”
“It’s time for the Republican Party to come together so we can defeat Joe Biden in November,” Mr. Simpson urged. “I encourage my fellow Idahoans to participate in the upcoming Presidential Caucus on March 2nd and join me in supporting President Trump.”
—Frank Fang
CatholicVote Endorses Trump: ‘Our Catholic Way of Life Is on the Ballot’
One of the nation’s largest Catholic advocacy groups, CatholicVote, officially endorsed former President Donald Trump on Monday, urging Catholic voters in New Hampshire to rally behind him in the upcoming presidential primary.
The organization, which had initially maintained neutrality in the primary, shifted its stance as the GOP field narrowed to two contenders, President Trump and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley.
“The choice is now clear,” declared CatholicVote President Brian Burch, emphasizing the importance of selecting a candidate capable of defeating incumbent President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
“I know many Catholics are divided over whether Trump is the best candidate to defeat Biden. But that’s also what primaries are for. The only two candidates that remain are Trump and Haley,” added Mr. Burch. “And the choice is a no-brainer.”
Mr. Burch highlighted President Trump’s achievements in office, including overseeing a robust economy and appointing three Supreme Court justices, leading to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“We need a general to lead us,” he asserted, stressing the necessity of a leader who is unafraid to fight for truth.
—Caden Pearson
New Hampshire’s Largest Newspaper Endorses Dean Phillips
New Hampshire’s largest newspaper, the Union Leader, has thrown its support behind Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), labeling him a “reasonable alternative” for Democrats to incumbent President Joe Biden.
The endorsement comes as Mr. Phillips, a long-shot Democratic candidate, faces an uphill battle to unseat the sitting president and beat GOP frontrunner, former President Donald Trump.
The Union Leader’s editorial, published on Jan. 22, urged Democratic voters to consider Mr. Phillips, even as the Democratic National Committee (DNC) canceled its primary in New Hampshire, seeking to cede its first-state privilege to South Carolina.
New Hampshire officials, however, declined the request, adding a layer of complexity to the state’s primary process.
“We have met many presidential primary candidates over the years. We have always let our readers know who we thought to be the best choice among the many contenders,” reads the editorial.
“Some of you may be handed a Democratic ballot on Tuesday and if so, you should consider Dean Phillips,” the editorial added.
—Caden Pearson
New Hampshire’s Six Midnight Primary Voters Pick Haley
DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H.—The only township in the state adhering to New Hampshire’s midnight voting tradition in the 2024 primary, has issued a verdict.
All six voters cast their ballots for Nikki Haley. Voting started at midnight and polls closed at 12:06 a.m.
After the ballots were removed and counted, the resident and primary official overseeing the primary, Tom Tillotson, showed observers the empty ballot box.
Cory Pesaturo serenaded the audience with an electric accordion rendition of the National Anthem before voting began. A dog wandered through the scene as well, delighting observers.
The rest of the state will start voting in the morning when polls open, generally at some point from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Polling suggests the rest of the state may not go the way of Dixville Notch. President Donald Trump held a double-digit lead over Ms. Haley on Jan. 22 in an average of polls maintained by RealClearPolitics.
—Nathan Worcester
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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