Trump’s Closing Argument in New Hampshire Elections: False Alarms about Democratic Infiltration

In the final stretch of the New Hampshire primary elections, former President Donald Trump delivered a series of speeches to his supporters, making false claims about Democrats attempting to infiltrate the Republican primary. These allegations, which were repeated in both Portsmouth and Atkinson, New Hampshire, were based on the state’s primary system that allows undeclared voters to participate.

Trump’s rhetoric in New Hampshire marked the latest instance of his embrace of falsehoods and misinformation surrounding voting in the United States. The former president has long maintained that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him, and these claims have continued to be a central theme in his campaign.

At a rally in Portsmouth, Trump accused Democrats of planning to “cancel out” votes for him and claimed that they were relying on “liberals and Democrats” to infiltrate the Republican primary. He also blamed New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu for the state’s primary system, which allows undeclared voters to participate in either party’s primary.

However, the facts paint a different picture. By law, undeclared residents may vote in New Hampshire’s GOP primary, along with Republican voters. Registered voters may only vote in one party’s primary, and the deadline to switch party registration expired in early October. Of the state’s more than 873,000 registered voters, just 3,542 voters changed their registration from Democrat to undeclared before the state’s Oct. 6 deadline, and just 408 Democrats changed their registration to Republican.

The electorate in New Hampshire is more moderate than in Iowa, where Trump cruised to a decisive victory in the caucuses, giving former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley a lane to challenge Trump in the Granite State if she can court enough moderate or independent support.

One Republican New Hampshire political strategist told CBS News that Trump’s concerns about left-leaning people voting in the Republican primary are valid, but that Trump will still win New Hampshire by a significant margin. “I don’t think enough people who are left-leaning will overcome the amount of supporters you have in the state of New Hampshire,” the strategist said.

Trump’s rhetoric in New Hampshire is not the only example of his false claims about voting in the U.S. In the past, he has made baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud and election rigging. These claims have been debunked by numerous fact-checking organizations and election experts.

The consequences of Trump’s false claims about the electoral process extend beyond the elections themselves. They can undermine public trust in the democratic process and create confusion and uncertainty about the legitimacy of the results.

Trump’s closing message to New Hampshire voters also included promises to help the state by lowering energy costs and taking care of its fishing and large veteran communities. He referred to New Hampshire as a state of “red-blooded New Hampshire patriots” and praised the state’s motto, “Live Free or Die.”

Kabir Khanna contributed to this report.

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First published on January 19, 2024 / 6:00 AM EST

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