New Hampshire, United States

Voters in the small town of Dixville Notch kicked off the US state of New Hampshire’s presidential primary on Tuesday (Jan 23) and handed a surprise early landslide victory to White House hopeful Nikki Haley. 

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Notably, the vote took place at midnight with all six registered voters  – four Republican voters and two independents – choosing the former South Carolina governor over former president Donald Trump and all the other candidates.

New Hampshire primary

The small resort town in New Hampshire was the first one in the US to vote in the 2024 primaries where the voters were outnumbered by more than 10-to-one by reporters from across the world. 

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The polls in Dixville Notch opened and closed just after midnight and the count took about 10 minutes and ended with no votes at all for Republican frontrunner Trump and six for Haley, his only remaining rival in the party’s nomination race.

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Notably, the tiny northeastern town in the middle of the forest near the Canadian border has held the title of voting “first in the nation” in primaries and the presidential election itself since 1960, given the voters there cast ballots so early. 

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Dixville Notch’s midnight voting tradition also dates back some 64 years.

One by one, all six registered voters collected their ballots from election officials, stepped behind a curtain into a booth to mark them and came back to drop them in a box. 

However, the results are not typically indicative of how an election will end up, given the really small number of voters. Most polling stations in New Hampshire will open between 6:00 am and 8:00 am (local time), on Tuesday. 

Haley thanks Dixville Notch

In a statement reacting to the votes in Dixville Notch, Haley said, “A great start to a great day in New Hampshire.” She added, “Thank you Dixville Notch!” 

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The former United Nations Ambassador is the only one standing against the Republican frontrunner after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race following the Iowa caucuses, where he came distant second following Trump.

Notably, the voters in New Hampshire are seen as a more Haley-friendly crowd than what she will witness in other states next month. 

Additionally, even though Trump has spent less time in New Hampshire juggling one rally a night with court appearances out of state, he is still leading the polls ahead of the election. 

A Globe/Suffolk/NBC10 poll showed Haley is 19 points behind Trump on the eve of the election.

(With inputs from agencies)