Republican Voters Are Already Splintering
Plus: How Trump likely killed a Senate Ukraine/border deal overnight.
The low overall voter turnout in Iowa combined with the high-turnout but more Trump-ambivalent results among independents and moderate Republicans in New Hampshire could be a portent of disaster for Trump in this fall’s general election.
Enthusiasm can make or break an election. While the most hardcore members of the Republican base, who also happen to align with its establishment, are enthusiastic about “taking America back” (again), many indicators suggest they are outliers who do not reflect the national mood.
At various stops in New Hampshire, I heard from independent and even conservative voters who had no interest in supporting Trump. At Nikki Haley’s events Monday and Tuesday, I encountered many former (and likely two-time) Biden voters who were backing Haley only as a strategic maneuver to prevent or delay Trump’s sweep of the Republican primary races.
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