Tommy Mita, a 45-year-old non-profit worker from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is a key independent voter for Nikki Haley’s campaign to win the important New Hampshire primary. Candidate Haley’s door-knockers talked to Mita, who said he was thinking about voting for her but wasn’t sure yet because he wanted Haley to take a stronger against Donald Trump.
Haley’s Challenge: Winning Over Independent Voters in New Hampshire Primary
For example, Mita is an unaffiliated voter who is very important to the New Hampshire primary because they are the state’s largest group of voters, bigger than both listed Republicans and Democrats. That’s right—the 343,000 independent voters can choose which primary to vote in. According to Andrew Smith, who runs the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, 30% of people clearly support Republicans, 35% support Democrats, and 35% are truly independent.
Based on Trump’s power within the Republican base, Haley needs strong support from people who aren’t registered with any party to have a chance against him. It would be an unprecedented feat for Haley to get 70% to 75% of voters who are not connected with any party, according to Smith.
Despite closing the gap with Trump in New Hampshire, Haley still has a long way to go. Polls show that Trump still has a 14-point lead over Haley. By questioning the credibility of support from independents and spreading false information about registered Democrats running in the Republican primary, Trump has tried to discredit Haley’s wins.
An independent group in New Hampshire called Independents Moving the Needle is trying to get right-leaning voters to support Haley’s bid. Charles Koch, an investor, has been supporting this group, and television stations in the area have been airing ads for them.
Although Trump is still the favorite, some people think Haley has a chance, especially if voters who aren’t sure yet break late. Chairman of the state Republican party Chris Ager says that Haley has a chance to win and stresses how important it is to appeal to people who haven’t chosen yet.
According to a new poll from Marist College, Haley’s plan includes showing how she can appeal to a wide range of voters. For example, she did better than Trump against Biden in New Hampshire. She stresses her ability to bring people together from different parties at campaign stops.
People from a variety of political parties are being canvassed by Americans for Prosperity Action, a super PAC mainly backed by Charles Koch. Mita and others revealed their preferences, showing how complicated voters’ choices are in a very competitive primary.
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