Trump rips New Hampshire for allowing independents to vote in GOP primary
Fox News' Bryan Llenas reports on independent voters' possible impact in the New Hampshire primary and the resulting criticism from former President Trump.
EXCLUSIVE: The Trump campaign is confident its ground game strategy in New Hampshire will boost former President Trump to a third victory in Tuesday's first-in-the nation primary, touting its state endorsements and enthusiasm on the ground.
Trump, who solidified his standing as the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination after winning the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses Monday night, has shifted his sights to New Hampshire. Trump won the New Hampshire primary in 2016 and 2020.
Former President and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump applauds at a watch party during the 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses in Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 15, 2024. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has learned Trump has received 67 state legislative endorsements in New Hampshire, a figure that exceeds former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ state-level endorsements.
TRUMP DOMINATES POLLING IN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND BEYOND AFTER IOWA CAUCUSES VICTORY
On the ground in New Hampshire, the Trump campaign has 2,000 active volunteers and a county chair in all ten counties with 250 town captains across the state that deploy door knockers each day.
The campaign told Fox News Digital it also has a coalition of military veterans supporting the former president, with more than 150 New Hampshire veterans pushing for his election.
Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis (Getty Images)
Trump surrogates are hosting events across the state in the days leading up to Tuesday’s primary.
Sen. JD Vance held a rally in Kingston, N.H., Friday. House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik attended a rally and visited Trump headquarters Saturday. And Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is expected at Trump HQ Sunday.
The former president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is expected to spend Monday on the campaign trail stumping for his father.
Candidate Trump has held multiple rallies and events throughout the weekend and is expected to host several more before New Hampshire residents cast their votes.
While Trump is dominating the polls and holds at least a double-digit lead over Haley, some suggest she could perform well in the state due to New Hampshire’s system that allows Independents to vote in the GOP primary.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a caucus night party in Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
"Nikki Haley and RINO Chris Sununu are shamelessly asking Democrats who registered as undeclared voters to infiltrate the Republican primary and vote for Nikki Haley," Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital, referring to the New Hampshire governor who endorsed Haley.
"Nikki Haley is dependent on Democrat donors to fuel her campaign and Democrat voters to propel her to the Republican nomination — a losing strategy with two days to go."
Moderate voters in the Granite State are highly influential, and the state's independents — who can vote in either major party primary — have long played a crucial role in New Hampshire's storied presidential contest.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu endorsed Haley, but in an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto, he said it was "troubling" that some Democratic voters will "switch" to be independents to vote in the primary.
Leavitt, who formally joined the campaign as press secretary this week after serving as spokesperson for the MAGA Inc. super PAC, is more than familiar with New Hampshire. Leavitt is a Granite Stater and ran for Congress in 2022 to represent New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign town hall in Rye, N.H., Jan. 2, 2024. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
"Republican and commonsense Granite Staters realize that Nikki Haley is a liberal who believes in policies that are the antithesis of New Hampshire values – open borders, higher taxes, bigger government and cuts to Social Security," Leavitt told Fox News Digital.
"The most motivated voters in this state are Republicans and Independents who know Donald Trump made their lives better by securing the border, rebuilding the economy and bringing down our sky-high energy costs."
Beyond that, Leavitt said New Hampshire residents have been "hit hard by the fentanyl crisis," but said that, in 2018, "thanks to President Trump's border and law enforcement policies, opioid overdoses decreased here for the first time in many years."
"Thanks to Joe Biden, they have risen again," she explained. "Nikki Haley is not strong enough to secure the border and impose the harshest of penalties on illegal immigrants and drug dealers. Only Donald Trump can."
Separately, Leavitt blasted Haley on her federal sales tax proposal.
Karoline Leavitt joined the Trump campaign as national press secretary. (Karoline Leavitt)
"Everyone in New England flocks to shop in New Hampshire because we do not have a sales tax. Nikki Haley wants to implement a 23% national federal sales tax. This would hurt New Hampshire's economic advantage and, most importantly, crush the middle and working class," she explained. "For the people of this state to think about having to pay 23% more every time they buy something is scary, especially when many are already suffering from Biden’s inflation."
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is confident that, even with Independents voting Tuesday, Trump will be victorious.
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"Nikki’s inevitable defeat in New Hampshire after her embarrassing third-place finish in Iowa should end her campaign for good," Leavitt said. "But if she stupidly decides to continue campaigning after yet another loss, Nikki will be signing her political death certificate in her own home state of South Carolina."
Trump, during an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity Thursday, said Nikki Haley "has no chance" in New Hampshire, saying "MAGA is not going to be with her."
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