HOLLIS, N.H. - New Hampshire voters are getting ready to have their say in the 2024 Republican Presidential Primaries, and the stakes are high for Nikki Haley as she seeks to gain ground against the front-runner, former President Donald Trump.


What You Need To Know

  • New Hampshire voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to cast the first ballots of the 2024 primaries

  • The latest polling from Suffolk University shows Donald Trump with a 16-point lead over Nikki Haley

  • In Hollis, a small town near the Massachusetts border, voters from both parties weighed in 

  • David Werner, a supporter of Trump, feels he will come away victorious in the Granite State

In Hollis, a small town in Hillsborough County bordering Massachusetts, voters on both sides of the aisle shared their thoughts on what’s in store next Tuesday for the Granite State.

Longtime resident and Trump supporter David Werner spent part of Wednesday hammering holes in the ground near Hollis Village Grocery to place nearly a dozen "Trump 2024" signs, a routine he’s grown quite accustomed to.

‘Well, we put our Trump signs up two weeks ago, and they've been stolen three times,” Werner said. “And, you know, Nikki Haley is a great person, but they just take Trump signs and they leave Nikki Haley signs, so go figure.”

Werner said he supports Trump because during his presidency, there was less inflation, lower gas prices and fewer conflicts overseas. He added that he respects the other candidates, particularly Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis, but his support for Trump has never wavered during this election cycle.

“It's just that Trump has got this overwhelming, looming presence,” Werner said. “And I'm not sure what the other candidates really are thinking. I love DeSantis, but I don't understand why he is doing this. It just makes no sense. I kind of expect they're all going to withdraw after New Hampshire, but God bless them.”

Democratic voters, meanwhile, will have to write in President Joe Biden on primary day if they head to the polls - the Biden Administration tried and failed to make South Carolina the first state to hold a primary.

Looking ahead to Tuesday’s primary and the general election in November, Erin O’Malley felt less than enthusiastic about how the race is shaping up.

“I think we're all kind of frustrated with the options,” O’Malley said. “We've got really old guys, guys that don't necessarily align with people's political inclinations. I think, honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a pretty low turnout this year just because the options are not impressive.”

For Werner, meanwhile, Trump winning New Hampshire feels like a foregone conclusion. The latest polling from Suffolk University shows Trump leading Nikki Haley by 16 points.

Werner’s more anecdotal way of taking New Hampshire’s temperature ahead of next week’s primary has also leaned towards the former president.

“When I put up the signs, ten to one honk in favor,” Werner said. “You can tell the difference between a ‘You're stupid’ honk and an ‘I’m for you’ honk. The honks are all favorable. Everybody I know here is voting for Trump. Even the diehard Democrats are saying it's time for Biden to go.”

It remains to be seen how the rest of 2024 will play out in the small town, but Hollis swung for Biden in the 2020 election by 809 votes.