New Hampshire primary voters split on whether Trump should be president if convicted, exit polls show

(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 U.S. states.

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 U.S. 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. 'I'M VERY CONFIDENT,' TRUMP SAYS

Trump, who is balancing campaign stops with appearances in various criminal and civil courts, denies wrongdoing and has used the criminal charges to bolster his claim of political persecution. He predicted victory in New Hampshire early on Tuesday, saying the level of enthusiasm was incredible. Later, during a stop at a polling station in Londonderry, Trump briefly addressed supporters.

"So excited. I'm very confident," he said. The first ballots in New Hampshire went to Haley. Voters in the tiny northern hamlet of Dixville Notch - always the first to vote in the state - chose Haley over Trump 6-0.

Like Iowa, New Hampshire is mostly a white state with a small population, but it has a more moderate Republican electorate and a better record of predicting eventual nominees. Haley came in a close third behind DeSantis in Iowa and has focused her early campaign on New Hampshire. "You just want to keep getting stronger and stronger and stronger. That's our goal," she said in Manchester.

Haley's campaign said on Tuesday it intends to keep her candidacy alive through "Super Tuesday" in early March, when 16 states vote. DEMOCRATS' STRATEGY

Biden is not on the ballot in New Hampshire's Democratic primary, having supported an effort by his party to move their first primary election to the more diverse state of South Carolina. New Hampshire supporters will still be able to vote for him by writing Biden's name on the ballot, which could be a barometer of his political strength.

The Democratic president, whose advisers are anticipating a rematch with Trump, took aim at Republicans over their efforts curb abortion rights in a Virginia speech on Tuesday, but his remarks were interrupted repeatedly by hecklers protesting his policies toward Israel. Democrats in Virginia secured majorities in the state legislature after making abortion rights a central campaign issue.

The Supreme Court, with a conservative majority made possible by three justices who joined the court under Trump, struck down in 2022 the Roe vs Wade ruling that guaranteed women's right to abortion. Biden has cast Trump as a would-be dictator and a threat to democracy.

In New Hampshire, Haley stepped up her attacks on Trump, criticizing his affinity for strongmen such as Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Haley, 52, has also gone after Trump's age - he is 77 - and mental acuity, attacks she has also regularly leveled at Biden, who is 81.

She took up the theme again on Tuesday, saying the country needs to put someone in the White House that can put in eight years to get it back on track. "Do you want two 80-year-olds running for president?" Haley asked.