In New Hampshire, thousands of Democratic voters have switched party affiliation to Republican or undeclared ahead of the state’s primary next week. Some say they switched to support Nikki Haley.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Following Donald Trump’s convincing win in the Iowa caucuses, the race for the Republican presidential nomination now turns to next Tuesday and the primary in New Hampshire. There, Nikki Haley’s poll numbers have been improving, giving her a shot at an upset victory against Trump. Anthony Brooks of member station WBUR reports.
ANTHONY BROOKS, BYLINE: Voters like Marie Mulroy of Manchester might hold the key for Haley in next week’s primary. She’s an unenrolled – or independent – voter who fervently opposes Donald Trump.
MARIE MULROY: He doesn’t have a moral compass. I don’t understand how anybody could vote for him.
BROOKS: Mulroy leans Democratic and voted for Joe Biden in 2020, but she’s so concerned that Trump could be reelected president that she plans to pull a Republican ballot next week and vote for Nikki Haley.
MULROY: She has the ability to get elected to beat Trump. And the primary goal is not to ever let Trump back into office again, to be honest.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CHRIS SUNUNU: Let’s just kick it off with Nikki Haley. Here we go.
BROOKS: That’s New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who has endorsed Haley and has been cheering her on as she campaigns across the state. In Bretton Woods yesterday, Haley, who’s 51, said it’s time for a new generational leader.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
NIKKI HALEY: Seventy percent of Americans have said they don’t want to see another Trump-Biden rematch. The majority of Americans think that having two 80-year-olds running for president is not what they want.
BROOKS: In contrast to Trump, Haley strikes a more moderate tone that appeals to many of New Hampshire’s independents, who make up the state’s largest bloc of voters. Sununu says they’re a…
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