Some 51% percent of voters in New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary contest considered themselves Republicans, down from 55% in the party’s 2016 contest, according to an exit poll conducted Tuesday by Edison Research.
New Hampshire is a semi-open primary, allowing “undeclared” registered voters to vote in either primary, giving independents a say in the Republican presidential nominating contest.
Roughly two-thirds of undeclared independents broke for runner-up Nikki Haley on Tuesday night, according to CNN’s exit poll analysis.
With responses from 2,192 voters in the Republican contest:
- 43% said they usually considered themselves as independents, largely unchanged from 42% in 2016.
- 6% said they usually think of themselves as Democrats, compared to 3% in the 2016 GOP primary.
- 34% said they consider themselves moderate or liberal, compared to 29% in 2016 primary.
- 48% of voters had a college degree, compared to 53% in 2016.
- 54% of voters said that if former President Donald Trump were convicted of a crime, he would still be fit for the presidency; 42% said he would not be fit for the office if convicted.
- 51% said they think Joe Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 presidential election.
- 19% said they decided who to vote for in the previous few days.
- Whites who consider themselves evangelical or born-again Christians made up 20% of voters, compared to 23% in 2016.
- 75% said the condition of the U.S. economy is not so good or poor, while 24% said it is excellent or good.
- 57% said they expect the next generation of Americans to be worse off, compared 33% in 2016.
- 37% of voters said the economy mattered most when deciding how they would vote in the contest, compared to 31% who said immigration mattered most. 12% cited abortion policy and 14% said foreign policy.