Trump, the former president, is hoping for a knockout blow against Haley, his former U.N. ambassador, in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, while Haley is aiming to amass enough support to show she is a viable challenger for the nomination.
Meanwhile, national Democrats were hoping President Joe Biden would not be embarrassed in a contest in which he is not on the ballot. The primary has been deemed unauthorized because it was held in violation of party rules and its results won't count.
Here are takeaways from the New Hampshire primary:
INDIES TO THE RESCUE?
Haley needed a healthy number of independent voters, who are permitted to vote in the primary, to come out for her to offset Trump's strength with traditional conservatives.
There were early signs that may have been occurring, based on exit polls from Edison Research.
According to Edison, 37% of voters who turned out considered themselves moderates or liberals, compared to 29% in 2016, when Trump won the primary handily.
Of the 45% percent who called themselves independents, Haley was winning 62% of their vote compared to 35% for Trump. She was winning 76% of those who call themselves moderates.
On the flip side, Trump was dominating with self-declared conservatives, winning them by a 69% to 29% margin.
Nearly half the voters (49%) believe Biden did not win the 2020 election fairly, according to the poll. Trump, who has perpetuated that false claim since he lost to Biden, was getting the vast majority of those voters at 84%.
Half the voters said they believed Trump would be fit for the presidency even if convicted of a crime, the poll said.
Conversely, 47% said he would be unfit, and Haley was earning 84% of those voters. That suggests Trump's legal problems could hamper him in a general-election matchup against Biden.
Polls don't start closing in New Hampshire until 7 p.m. ET so voting results were hours away.
(Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Daniel Wallis)
By James Oliphant
