MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — Voters in New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary on Tuesday were sharply divided over whether Donald Trump would be fit for office if convicted of a crime, a sign the former president’s legal troubles could dog him in any general election matchup with President Joe Biden.
Early exit polls showed that 50% of Republican primary voters said Trump would be fit for the presidency if convicted of a crime, while 47% said he would not be fit to serve if convicted, according to the preliminary results of an exit poll conducted on Tuesday by Edison Research.
The exit polls also showed that 49% of New Hampshire primary voters do not think Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election, a false claim perpetuated by Trump since he lost it.
They showed 69% of Republican primary voters said the economy was either poor or not good, an area where Biden has struggled to highlight improvements during his administration.
Republicans made up a smaller share of voters in the primary relative to the state’s 2016 Republican contest in the state, the exit polls showed. Some 47% of voters considered themselves Republican, compared to 55% in the 2016 primary. Eight percent said they considered themselves Democrats, compared to 3% in 2016. The share of independents was little changed at 45%.
Most polling stations in the state close at 7 p.m. (0000 GMT) but some remain open until 8 p.m. (0100 GMT).
Nikki Haley looked to keep her White House hopes alive in New Hampshire by slowing Trump’s march to the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and scoring enough support to keep her campaign going in bigger, more diverse US states.
Trump had a record-setting victory in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation contest last week. New Hampshire is only the second state to hold a Republican presidential nominating contest.
A resounding win in New Hampshire would help propel Trump to secure the party’s nomination despite multiple criminal counts against him, two impeachments and his chaotic 2017-2021 presidency.
Trump and Haley, a former South Carolina governor who was his ambassador to the United Nations, were in a two-person race in the New England state after Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, dropped out and endorsed Trump.
Opinion polls show Trump with a wide lead over Haley, who needs a victory or at least a strong showing in New Hampshire to carry her to the next nominating contest in her home state, where Trump is also dominant in the polls.
The Republican nominee will face Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, in the general election on Nov. 5.
Noting the exit poll result showed Haley dominating among moderates and liberals and even pulling in roughly a third of conservatives, Democratic strategist Joe Trippi said Haley could be heading for a “good night” relative to Trump.
“If these results hold up, she is eating into his base in a way that did not happen in Iowa,” he said.
New Hampshire’s secretary of state David Scanlan said he expected a healthy Republican turnout on Tuesday and that results should be in quickly. – Reuters
