With efforts to close New Hampshire’s presidential primary likely failing, the state’s primary could be determined by the state’s independent voters, who make up nearly 40 percent of the state’s electorate.
Republicans make up significantly fewer voters, 29.82 percent, and Democrats slightly more, at 30.28 percent. Since President Joe Biden has no significant challengers in the state’s Democratic primary, many Democrats were expected to register as independents — known as undeclared voters in the state — to sway the Republican primary.
Jay DeLancy, who runs the Voter Integrity Project, told The New Hampshire Star that the establishment pushes for open primaries in states like New Hampshire because the crossover votes from non-Republicans create the impression a leading conservative candidate doesn’t have as much support. He said in his state of North Carolina, the establishment has fought for years to keep the primary open for that reason. In New Hampshire, he said the establishment’s goal is to get as many votes for Nikki Haley as possible, creating such an appearance of support for her that former President Donald Trump will be forced to accept her as his vice presidential running mate.
DeLancy compared it to the 1980 presidential primary race, where he said moderates helped George H.W. Bush perform so well that Ronald Reagan was forced to choose him to run on the ticket. He said in North Carolina, a viable candidate for chair of the state Republican Party recently ran on a platform of closing the primaries. Since the candidate came close to winning, the North Carolina Legislature changed the law a few months ago to ensure political parties cannot close the primaries.
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