Former President Donald Trump's dominance among GOP primary voters fueled his victory in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, according to NBC News exit poll results.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley was able to win over independent or “undeclared” voters, and Trump's wide margins among self-identified Republican and conservative voters proved too insurmountable. Like last week's Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary underscored how Trump's hardliners have captured the Republican base.
Here are four numbers from an NBC News exit poll that help explain Trump's victory:
1. Trump's GOP edge
4 Three out of 4 New Hampshire GOP primary voters who self-identified as Republicans supported Trump, and they accounted for half of the electorate (50%). Haley won 58% of voters who described themselves as independent, but by a 22-point margin compared to Trump's 49-point advantage among Republicans.
2. Conservatives dominated the electorate
Self-described conservatives dominated primary voters, with 67% of voters describing themselves as such. Trump won 71 percent of the vote. Haley won 72% of self-described moderates, beating Trump roughly 3 to 1, but they were a smaller share of the electorate (28%).
3. The new, pro-Trump GOP base
During the Trump years, the GOP saw success among non-college-educated voters, and Trump easily won that group Tuesday night. Voters without a college degree make up the majority of voters (52%).
Among voters without a college degree, Trump won 67%, while only 31% voted for Haley. Trump's performance among those voters increased by 245 percentage points compared to 2016, when he won 42% of them.
Although they made up smaller shares of the electorate, Trump won among other groups that make up the GOP base, including 66% of voters with incomes under $50,000, 70% of white evangelical or born-again voters, and 53% of voters. Above 65 years.
4. Trump's edge on key issues
The top two issues for GOP primary voters were the economy (37%) and immigration (30%) — and Trump bested Haley on both.
The former president won 55% of voters who said the economy was their top issue and 79% who said immigration was most important to their vote.
Poll results also show that one of Haley's key messages on the campaign trail has not been a priority for primary voters. Haley has argued that she is in the best position to defeat President Joe Biden in November, but 14% of primary voters said it was more important to them. Even among those voters, Trump still had the most support, with 59% backing him and 39% backing Haley.
