What voters in New Hampshire have to say about Nikki Haley and Donald Trump ahead of Tuesday’s primary

Hollis, New Hampshire CNN —

Danielle Brown voted for John McCain in the 2000 New Hampshire Republican primary and for Barack Obama in the Democratic primary eight years later. On Tuesday, she intends to back former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to send a clear message to both parties.

“We need to have some new ideas and a new, younger generation coming in,” Brown, an undeclared voter, said as she clutched a Haley 2024 yard sign freshly autographed by the candidate. “Haley is energized. I think she can do a lot for our country.”

Brown is a voter stuck in the middle, one of thousands of undeclared and independent residents who make up a plurality of the Granite State’s electorate and a critical part of Haley’s coalition. Her chances in New Hampshire – and by extension, the fate of her campaign – likely hinge on how many independents vote for her in the state’s primary Tuesday.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump walking toward the podium before his remark at a campaign event in Manchester, N.H., Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024.

Related article CNN Poll: Trump’s lead over Haley widens to double digits in New Hampshire

As of Friday, 344,335 voters in New Hampshire were registered as undeclared, making up nearly 40% of the electorate.

Haley’s campaign is targeting Republicans and undeclared voters from the suburbs to the seacoast, advisers said, particularly in precincts where Trump underperformed other Republicans, such as Gov. Chris Sununu. Though former President Donald Trump won the 2016 New Hampshire GOP primary, he lost the state in the general election in both 2016 and 2020.

A CNN/UNH poll released Sunday found that 50% of likely GOP primary voters support Trump, compared to 39% who