Here's the latest from the 2024 campaign trail:
- Live coverage on this blog has ended. Click here for the latest updates.
- It's officially a one-on-one race for the GOP nomination: Former President Donald Trump and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley hold dueling events in New Hampshire the day before the state's primary.
- Two new polls show Trump maintaining a double-digit lead over Haley in the Granite State.
- In the town of Dixville Notch, all six registered voters — four Republicans and two undeclared — cast their ballots for Haley.
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis decided to drop out of the race after he summoned several of his closest advisers to the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee yesterday.
- President Joe Biden and the Democrats are focusing on the 51st anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling.
Anti-Trump forces look to N.H.'s unique voter mix for salvation
MANCHESTER, N.H. — After Trump’s blowout win in the Iowa caucuses, New Hampshire Republican Joe Mohler became more adamant about his support for Haley.
A student at the University of New Hampshire’s Franklin Pierce Law School, Mohler voted for Trump twice, but he says he was “humiliated” by Trump’s denial of the 2020 election results and subsequent efforts to overturn them. He’s representative of a type of voter that could play a very important role in the state.
New Hampshire’s more suburban, less evangelically conservative Republican primary electorate gives Trump’s opponents a key opportunity to slow his momentum, along with the state’s rule allowing independent voters — voters registered as “undeclared” in New Hampshire — to participate in party primaries. Haley’s chances on Tuesday will rely on support from a unique coalition: Republicans open to a new party leader, those inside and outside the party turned off by Trump, and even Democratic-leaning voters who see Haley as a vessel to defeat Trump before the general election.
“I do not want see Donald Trump be the nominee for the Republican Party,” Mohler said, “and I was pretty much willing to vote for anybody that had a chance of beating him.”
A Gen Z advocacy group is trying to dissuade young voters from backing Trump and Haley
The battle is on for Gen Z’s votes.
A liberal political advocacy group said Monday that it had bought up two website domains to steer young voters away from the leading GOP candidates: Trump and Haley.
Voters of Tomorrow, a Gen Z-run advocacy organization, snagged the URLs GenZforTrump.org and GenZforHaley.org to redirect users to GenZvsFarRight.org.
The initiative is designed to educate young voters about Trump’s and Haley’s agendas to show “their visions are overwhelmingly unpopular with young voters,” said Jack Lobel, the organization’s national press secretary.
New Hampshire has historically been the state that introduces presidential candidates to the rest of the nation.
Town of Dixville Notch casts first ballots in N.H. primary
The first six ballots of the 2024 primary season were cast at midnight today in the small town of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.
Trump received no votes and Haley received all six. Four of the voters were registered Republicans, while two were undeclared.
“A great start to a great day in New Hampshire,” Haley said in a campaign news release. “Thank you Dixville Notch!”
Voters placed their ballots in a wooden box at midnight in a tradition that has endured since 1960, with a town moderator tabulating the ballots, filling out the necessary paperwork and recording the results on a board. Dixville Notch has the longest run of midnight voting.
In 1988, the town had its highest number of midnight votes cast — 38 — since the tradition began.
What we learned from months on the ground before New Hampshire’s primary
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has called New Hampshire voters “presidential wine tasters” for their insistence on meeting candidates in person, sometimes repeatedly, before they consider voting for them.
Tomorrow, those voters will make their 2024 presidential picks, and what they saw on the trail and how they made their decisions will tell us a lot about American politics for the rest of a big election year.
NBC News has spoken to hundreds of New Hampshire voters over seven months to understand how some of the most openly strategic participants in the presidential race are thinking through 2024 right now.
The voter insights allowed NBC News to gather six big takeaways about the race.
Throughout New Hampshire, voters are making clear their frustration with the possibility of a Trump-Biden rematch in the general election.
Colorado abortion-rights groups launch 2024 ballot measure effort
A coalition of reproductive rights groups in Colorado officially kicked off an effort today to place an amendment on the November ballot that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom is beginning its signature-collection efforts with events throughout the state — timing its campaign launch with the 51st anniversary of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which, until it was overturned in 2022, had legalized abortion rights throughout the U.S.
The group’s efforts make Colorado the eighth state where reproductive rights groups have advanced efforts seeking to enshrine abortion rights in a state constitution via a citizen-led ballot initiative in 2024. Other states where similar efforts are underway include Florida, Arizona, Montana and Missouri.
N.H. GOP chairman predicts a double-digit Trump win could end Haley's bid
MANCHESTER, N.H. — New Hampshire GOP Chairman Chris Ager said today that if Trump wins tomorrow’s primary by double digits, it might lead to Haley's departure.
“I think if he wins by double digits, it would perhaps be time for the Haley campaign to reassess whether they have a path forward,” said Ager, who hasn't endorsed a candidate. “I can envision a double-digit Trump win ends the primary.”
“If Nikki Haley wins, then you know, buckle up — it’s going to be a good one,” Ager added.
Popular New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has endorsed Haley, but Trump is also racking up endorsements, including those of former GOP rivals like DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Ager said he doesn’t believe those endorsements for Trump will change the contours of tomorrow's primary. “Endorsements from people out of New Hampshire don’t matter at all. Even endorsements in New Hampshire matter very little,” he said.
Trump’s former rivals join him onstage on eve of N.H. primary
Three of Trump's former GOP primary opponents joined him onstage tonight at his final rally before New Hampshire voters head to the polls tomorrow.
Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott and Doug Burgum briefly addressed the crowd to reiterate their endorsements for the former president.
When a supporter yelled support for Ramaswamy later during the rally, Trump said, "I love him, too, now."
"I didn't love him when he was running, but I like him now," Trump said. "It’s amazing the way you can like somebody when you win."
Trump spoke for about 75 minutes.
Trump plays a starring role in California Senate debate as four candidates clash
Four candidates for a U.S. Senate seat in California squared off in their first debate today as they vie for a rare open seat vacated by the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
And Trump, the likely 2024 Republican presidential nominee, who would be all but guaranteed to get pummeled in the general election in the solidly blue state, played a starring role.
The three Democrats — U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee — all sought to highlight their opposition to Trump and corner the lone Republican onstage, former baseball player Steve Garvey, for refusing to say whether he’d support Trump this fall.