Unaffiliated voters and moderates appear to be turning out in New Hampshire’s Republican primary, according to preliminary network exit polls, which could be a glimmer of hope for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s chances in the Granite State.
Voters registered as “undeclared” rather than Republican account for 47% of the turnout in the preliminary exit poll results conducted by ABC News. The record number to date was 45% in 2012. The results found moderates account for 31% of voters, compared with 9% in last week’s Iowa caucuses. Just 24% are very conservative vs. 52% in Iowa.
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In New Hampshire, any independent or unaffiliated voter can participate in the Republican primary. The deadline to switch parties was in October. Republicans will not be able to vote in the Democratic primary, and Democrats cannot vote in the Republican primary. Independents were able to vote in either primary on Tuesday and did not need to decide ahead of time which primary they would participate in.
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Preliminary exit poll results found just under half of Republican primary voters personally identify with the party. More than 4 in 10 identify as independents, and just under 1 in 10 identify as Democrats. The results also found the majority of voters who turned out to support Trump said they strongly favored their candidate. About 4 in 10 Nikki Haley voters in the New Hampshire primary said their vote was motivated by a dislike for other candidates in the race. About a quarter of Haley voters said they liked their candidate “but with reservations.”
Haley, a former South Carolina governor, crisscrossed the Granite State in the final week ahead of the primary in a frantic burst of final campaigning. Results in New Hampshire offer Haley the first glimpse of her appeal with independent and unaffiliated voters, which were viewed as an opportunity to slow Trump’s momentum heading into the busy primary calendar.
