LAST UPDATE | 23 Jan
DONALD TRUMP IS seeking to see off his only remaining rival in the race to secure the Republican party’s nomination for US President in the New Hampshire primary today.
His opponent, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, has been hoping that the New Hampshire vote could springboard her campaign.
The first place to vote in the New Hampshire contest this morning was a tiny resort town called Dixville Notch, where all of its six registered voters cast their ballot for former South Carolina governor Haley.
In other towns and cities across the state, voters have been filling out their ballots today to record their preference for their party’s candidate.
After Trump secured a wipeout victory in the Iowa Caucus last week, with Haley coming in third, it is looking likely that he will soon be the only candidate left in the Republican race.
Analysts have said that Haley would need a win or a close defeat in New Hampshire for her campaign to survive beyond this month. It would be unprecedented for Trump to win both of the opening contests in the race and not secure the nomination.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race after coming in second at the Iowa Caucus, and threw his support behind Trump, albeit somewhat reluctantly.
Most of the New Hampshire polls will close at roughly midnight Irish time.
Trump has been less present in the state in the run up to the vote than his rival Haley, but the polls still have him ahead.
“If you want a losing candidate who puts America last, vote for Nikki Haley,” Trump said in his closing arguments at a rally in the village of Laconia.
“But if you want a president who puts America first every single time, you’re going to vote for Donald J. Trump.”
A Globe/ Suffolk/NBC10 poll has Haley lagging 19 points behind.
Trump’s campaign to be the presidential nominee faces legal obstacles, as he has four criminal trials awaiting him and lawsuits for fraud and sexual assault.
He continues to deny wrongdoing in all cases and has made his legal battles a key part of his campaign, fashioning himself as a persecuted outsider.
Haley has warned that another Trump presidency would lead to “chaos”, and has questioned his mental fitness. She is hoping to appeal to moderates in New Hampshire today.
Speaking to Fox News, Haley said that: “Political elites are saying we all need to coalesce around him. This is not a coronation. This is a democracy.”
“We are going to have a strong showing today here in New Hampshire,” she said.
In the Democrat race, President Joe Biden did not file candidate paperwork in New Hampshire but supporters have pledged to write his name on the ballot anyway, hoping he can attain a symbolic victory over Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips and author Marianne Williamson.
The incumbent president chose instead to campaign in Virginia today, focusing on his policies around access to abortion.
Additional reporting by Lauren Boland and AFP
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