Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s second-place finish in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday was thanks to non-Republican voters.
In fact, a stunning 70 percent of voters that picked Haley over the first-place finisher, former President Donald Trump, weren’t Republicans.
According to NBC News —
Three in 4 New Hampshire GOP primary voters who self-identified as Republicans supported Trump, and they comprised a majority of the electorate (51%). Haley won 60% of voters who described themselves as independent, but by a 22-point margin compared to Trump’s 49-point advantage among Republicans.
As Trump’s hold on securing the party’s nomination tightened, exit polls found that some voters express concerns that he is too controversial to defeat President Joe Biden in the November general election. Some also worry about his legal peril in pending criminal trials.
Haley, a former South Carolina governor and a U.N. ambassador under Trump, managed to win among college graduates and moderates, a possible sign that Trump has yet to expand his political base.
Surveys showed that primary voters on the Democratic side rallied around President Joe Biden. He won in New Hampshire with strong support on the economy, but many have concerns about his age — he is 81 — and his mishandling of the situation in the Middle East.
The New Hampshire primaries are unique because undeclared voters –- those not affiliated with either party –- can choose to vote in either party’s primary. This draws in voters who are not necessarily party loyalists, most of which flocked to Haley.
Nearly half of GOP primary voters were not affiliated with a party, compared with about 2 in 10 in the Democratic primary. Among those affiliated with the Republican Party in the state, Trump won handily.
South Carolina and Nevada are next on the calendar, states where only registered Republicans can vote. Trump is expected to win both easily.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article