2016 New Hampshire Republican Primary
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The 2016 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, which took place on February 9, was the second major vote of the cycle.
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
was declared the winner with 35.3% of the popular vote and picked up 11 delegates, while
John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...
emerged from a pack of candidates between 10-20% to capture second place with 15.8% of the vote and picked up four delegates. It occurred on the same day as the
Democratic primary This is a list of Democratic Party presidential primaries. 1912 This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of Speaker of the Uni ...
.
Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...
,
Carly Fiorina Cara Carleton "Carly" Fiorina (''née'' Sneed; born September 6, 1954) is an American businesswoman and politician, known primarily for her tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP). As chief executive officer of HP from 1999 to 2005, Fiorina was ...
, and Jim Gilmore dropped out of the race after poor showings in the primary.


Campaign

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
described the 2016 Republican primary in New Hampshire as a "topsy-turvy" campaign that saw "an all-out assault" on "establishment" politics.
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
dominated the polling results, with
Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...
,
John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...
, Marco Rubio, and
Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...
vying to place second and emerge as the leading mainstream alternative to Trump and to
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
. In November
Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...
gained the endorsement of the ''
New Hampshire Union Leader The ''New Hampshire Union Leader'' is a daily newspaper from Manchester, the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. On Sundays, it publishes as the ''New Hampshire Sunday News.'' Founded in 1863, the paper was best known for the cons ...
.'' Candidates receiving the endorsement later received a boost of on average 8 points in the polls, but the endorsed candidate only won a Republican primary in half of the elections from 1980 to 2012. But in late January ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' and the ''
Concord Monitor The ''Concord Monitor'' is the daily newspaper for Concord, the state capital of New Hampshire. It also covers surrounding towns in Merrimack County, most of Belknap County, as well as portions of Grafton, Rockingham and Hillsborough counties ...
'' endorsed Kasich, leading
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
to dub him the winner of the "newspaper primary."


Major debates and forums

Two major televised gatherings of major candidates took place during the 2015-16 campaign, both took place at the
New Hampshire Institute of Politics The New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP) is an academic institute at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 2001, the institute has hosted hundreds of potential candidates for the U.S. presidency. History The New H ...
of Saint Anselm College in
Goffstown, New Hampshire Goffstown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 18,577 at the 2020 census. The compact center of town, where 3,366 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Goffst ...
.


August 3, 2015 – Voters First Presidential Forum

The 2016 Voters First Presidential Forum was moderated by Jack Heath of WGIR radio, who asked questions of each of the participating candidates based on a random draw. Candidates each had three opportunities to speak: two rounds of questions, and a closing statement. Topics of discussion during the forum were partially selected based on the results of an online voter survey. The facilities were provided by the New Hampshire Institute of Politics and Political Library of St. Anselm College. The forum was organized in response to the top-ten invitation limitations placed by
Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
and
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
on their first televised debates (see descriptions below). Eleven of the candidates participated: Senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio participated in the forum via satellite to avoid missing a vote. Three major Republican candidates who did not participate were Donald Trump (who chose not to attend), Jim Gilmore (who missed the cutoff deadline) and Mike Huckabee (who was invited, but did not respond). Mark Everson did not receive an invitation, albeit after a "serious look." The ''Voters First'' forum was broadcast nationally by
C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
as the originating source media entity, beginning at 6:30 p.m. EDT and lasting from 7 to 9 p.m. The event was also
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...
and/or co-sponsored by television stations
KCRG-TV KCRG-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, serving Eastern Iowa as an affiliate of ABC, MyNetworkTV, and The CW. Owned by Gray Television, the station has studios on Second Avenue Southeast in do ...
in Iowa, New England Cable News in the northeast, WBIN-TV in New Hampshire,
WLTX WLTX (channel 19) is a television station in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Garners Ferry Road (US 76– 378) in southeastern Columbia, and its transmitter is ...
-TV in South Carolina, radio stations
New Hampshire Public Radio New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) is the National Public Radio member network serving the state of New Hampshire. NHPR is based in Concord and operates eight transmitters and six translators covering nearly the whole state, as well as portions of ...
, WGIR in New Hampshire, iHeartRadio on the internet (
C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
is also offering an online version of the broadcast), and newspapers the ''
Cedar Rapids Gazette ''The Gazette'' is a daily print newspaper and online news source published in the American city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The first paper was published as an evening journal, branded the ''Evening Gazette'', on Wednesday, January 10, 1883. The new ...
'' in Iowa, the '' Union Leader'' in New Hampshire, and the ''
Post and Courier ''The Post and Courier'' is the main daily newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina. It traces its ancestry to three newspapers, the ''Charleston Courier'', founded in 1803, the ''Charleston Daily News'', founded 1865, and ''The Evening Post'', f ...
'' in Charleston South Carolina. There was a live audience, with tickets to the event awarded via a lottery.


Lesser known candidates forum at Goffstown

One of the highlights of the campaign is when the nonrecognized candidates gather together to introduce themselves to the public at this event, which first was held in 1972. Five candidates participated. They were Stephen Comley, Tim Cook, Walter Iwachiw,
Andy Martin Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona, usually known as Andy Martin (born 1945), is an American perennial candidate who has never been elected to office, running as both a Democrat and a Republican. He has filed over 250 political lawsuits nationwide ...
, and Joe Robinson.


February 6, 2016 – Goffstown, New Hampshire

The eighth debate was held in New Hampshire, the first state to hold primaries, was organized by
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
and the ''
Independent Journal Review The ''Independent Journal Review'' (IJR) is a conservative American news and opinion website based in Alexandria, Virginia. The publication was founded in 2012 by Alex Skatell. Skatell serves as its CEO, with Camden Stuebe as President and Shus ...
''. It was scheduled to be held in the St Anselm's College Institute of Politics. The eighth debate did not feature an undercard event.
David Muir David Jason Muir (born November 8, 1973) is an American journalist and the anchor of ''ABC World News Tonight'' and co-anchor of the ABC News magazine '' 20/20'', part of the news department of the ABC broadcast-television network, based in N ...
and
Martha Raddatz Martha Raddatz (; born February 14, 1953) is an American reporter with ABC News. She is the network's Chief Global Affairs Correspondent reporting for ABC's '' World News Tonight with David Muir'', ''Nightline'', and other network broadcasts. In a ...
were moderaters, along with WMUR political director Josh McElveen and Mary Katherine Ham. To participate in the debate, a candidate must either have placed among the top 3 candidates in the popular vote of the Iowa caucus, or placed among the top 6 candidates in an average of New Hampshire or national polls recognized by ABC News. Only polls conducted no earlier than January 1 and released by February 4 were included in the averages. On February 4, 2016,
Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...
,
Ben Carson Benjamin Solomon Carson Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is an American retired neurosurgeon and politician who served as the 17th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to 2021. A pioneer in the field of neurosurgery, he ...
,
Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...
,
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
,
John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...
, Marco Rubio, and
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
were invited to the debate.
Carly Fiorina Cara Carleton "Carly" Fiorina (''née'' Sneed; born September 6, 1954) is an American businesswoman and politician, known primarily for her tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP). As chief executive officer of HP from 1999 to 2005, Fiorina was ...
and Jim Gilmore were not invited as they did not meet the criteria. The debate was notable for Rubio's poor performance, where he repeated the same phrase four times, including once while Christie was criticizing him for making "canned" remarks.


Candidates

Twenty-six total candidates were on the ballot in the New Hampshire primary. The following
notable Notability is the property of being worthy of notice, having fame, or being considered to be of a high degree of interest, significance, or distinction. It also refers to the capacity to be such. Persons who are notable due to public responsibi ...
candidates were listed in five major polls and participated in authorized debates. U.S. Senator
Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (born July 9, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A member of the Republican Party, Graham chaired the Senate Committee on ...
of
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
and former Governors Bobby Jindal of
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
and
George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went on ...
of New York withdrew from the race, but remained on the ballot. The following were listed in national polls and participated in at least one nationally televised debate. The following were listed in national polls and participated in at least one nationally televised debate, but withdrew their candidacies before the New Hampshire primary. The following candidates have not been listed in major independent polls nor participated in Republican party sanctioned debates: *Stephen B. Comley Sr., Massachusetts (31 votes) *Tim Cook, North Carolina (77 votes) *Brooks A. Cullison, Illinois (54 votes) *Matt Drozd, Pennsylvania (5 votes) *J. Daniel Dyas Sr., Alabama (14 votes) *Kevin Glenn Huey, Colorado (7 votes) *Walter N. Iwachiw, New York (9 votes) *Frank Lynch, Florida (47 votes) *Robert L. Mann, Indiana (5 votes) *
Andy Martin Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona, usually known as Andy Martin (born 1945), is an American perennial candidate who has never been elected to office, running as both a Democrat and a Republican. He has filed over 250 political lawsuits nationwide ...
, New Hampshire (169 votes) *Peter Messina (5 votes) *Stephen John McCarthy, Ohio (12 votes) *Chomi Prag, Wisconsin (14 votes) *Joe Robinson, Massachusetts (44 votes) *Richard P.H. Witz, Massachusetts (105 votes)


Endorsements

Source:


Polling


Aggregate polls


Results

Note: Delegates were awarded to candidates who got 10% or more of the vote proportionally. Of the 25 candidate/hopefuls, five candidates garnered delegates.


Results by county


Exit polls


Analysis

According to exit polls by
Edison Research The National Election Pool (NEP) is a consortium of American news organizations formed in 2003 to provide exit polling information for US elections, replacing the Voter News Service which had failed disastrously in 2002. The system produced s ...
, Trump's
landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
in New Hampshire could be attributed to strong support from non-college
whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...
and voters holding a
moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...
political ideology. Trump amassed the largest margin of victory in a New Hampshire Republican primary since 2000, when
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
upset
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
. In his victory speech, Trump promised, "I am going to be the greatest jobs president that God ever created," and that he will "knock the hell out of
ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...
." Trump's tough-on- terror message resonated in the state, where 65% of Republican voters supported his proposed Muslim ban.


See also

* 2016 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary *
2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...


References

{{2016 Republican Primaries Republican presidential primary
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
2016 February 2016 events in the United States