70% of Nikki Haley's New Hampshire voters were not registered Republicans: Poll

Approximately 70% of New Hampshire primary voters who supported former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley (R) were not registered Republicans, according to a Tuesday CNN exit poll.

The poll revealed that only 27% of Haley voters were Republican, and another 3% were not registered with any party before the primary on Tuesday. Seven in ten of Haley's voters were "undeclared."

In contrast, 70% of former President Donald Trump's (R) New Hampshire supporters were registered Republicans, and approximately 27% were undeclared.

According to the New Hampshire Secretary of State, undeclared voters are allowed to vote in primary presidential elections, but they must choose either Democratic or Republican when showing up to submit their ballot. Before leaving the polling place, they may "fill out a card or sign a list to return to undeclared status with the supervisors of the checklist."

On Tuesday evening, ABC reporter Eva Pilgrim applauded undeclared voters for showing up to vote for Haley, MRC NewsBusters reported. She noted that South Carolina and 11 Super Tuesday states also hold open primaries.

"Those independent, those undeclared voters waiting in line feeling like they needed to do this, that they needed to participate in this primary. So many people we talked to, while they were waiting in line to go into those polling sites, told us that here in New Hampshire, they really take this job seriously. And they recognize that they're the first in the nation primary and that they are the ones who decide the whole thing," Pilgrim stated.

"In South Carolina, anyone can vote in that primary as long they haven't voted in the Democratic primary. So, [Haley's] really hoping to pull those independent, those more moderate voters, those people who just don't want to vote for Trump again. And then look into Super Tuesday, 11 of those Super Tuesday states are open primaries or semi-open primaries, and she's hoping for that same game plan again," she added.

The CNN exit poll also revealed that 83% of Haley voters think President Joe Biden (D) "legitimately won" the 2020 presidential race, while only 17% of Trump voters agreed.

Despite Democratic and independent voters boosting Haley's New Hampshire Republican primary results, Trump still secured a roughly 11-point victory on Tuesday evening, according to the Associated Press.

Last week, Haley came in third behind Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) in the Iowa caucuses. Trump received 51% of the vote, the AP reported.

A recent Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll revealed that 43% of Haley supporters would vote for Biden over Trump, while only 23% said they would favor Trump, Blaze News previously reported. Over half of Haley's backers said it would be impossible for Trump to win against Biden.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!