Republicans predict turnout in New Hampshire's primary could set a record
Republicans predict Tuesday's vote in New Hampshire could break turnout records in the state, as former President Donald J. Trump looks to deliver another strong showing against his rivals, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis.
The previous Republican primary record of about 285,000 votes was set in 2016, when Trump defeated a crowded Republican field and set the tone for his eventual clinching of the party nomination. It would also eclipse the total from the 2020 Democratic primary, when about 297,000 votes were cast.
The potential increase would be a stark contrast to last week's lackluster turnout in the Republican caucuses in Iowa, which was the lowest in more than a decade as people battled subzero temperatures.
“We expect a record or near record,” Chris Ager, the chairman of the Republican Party of New Hampshire, said in an interview Friday.
Mr. Ager suggested that as many as 300,000 people could participate in the primary, the country's first, which is also open to independent voters. That important voter bloc, according to the secretary of state, accounts for about 39 percent of New Hampshire's roughly 900,000 voters — the remaining electorate is split between Republicans and Democrats.
Some Republicans had even higher expectations for turnout Tuesday, including Americans for Prosperity Action, a political network founded by billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch. The group, which supports Ms Haley, said its data partner predicted turnout could approach 330,000 voters.
“The one thing that sets New Hampshire apart from other states, it's just the breadth of participation in the primaries,” Greg Moore, regional director of Americans for Prosperity Action, said at a news conference Friday.
David M. Scanlan, New Hampshire's secretary of state and a Republican who oversees the elections, predicted Friday that 322,000 people would turn out for the Republican Party's primary.
Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, a Republican who has also endorsed Ms. Haley, lashed out at Iowa's low turnout Tuesday night at an event for Ms. Haley in Bretton Woods, N.H., where more than 100 people showed up in a snowstorm.
“Iowa hasn't done a very good job with it,” he said. “Electoral turnout was very, very low in Iowa. But here in New Hampshire, we understand what this is all about, and we understand that the rest of the country is watching and praying that we get this right.”