Voters are turning out in record numbers to vote in the New Hampshire primary today. Most precincts will close at 7pm ET this evening while some don’t close until 8pm ET. My guess is we’ll have a winner announced shortly after 8pm ET if everything adds up based on exit polls and voter models.
Watch Live Primary Coverage: Fox News Live, CNN Live
Live Results: WMUR
Report from the LA Times:
The polls are now open through most of New Hampshire, where a record turnout is forecast for the nation’s first presidential primary.
New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, overseeing his ninth presidential primary, estimates that a quarter million ballots could be cast in the GOP race, which if true would exceed the nearly 240,000 ballots cast four years ago.
Pre-election surveys suggest Mitt Romney has an insurmountable lead. But a fierce battle was nonetheless being waged in the final days as other candidates fought to beat expectations in anticipation of the next primary in South Carolina.
The final Suffolk University tracking poll saw Romney ticking up four percentage points in the final day. He led Ron Paul 37-18.
A win for Romney would be unprecedented in this respect: no Republican has ever won both the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. Romney’s eight-vote advantage in Iowa has not yet been certified, though GOP officials there said they didn’t expect the result to change.
In his closing argument to voters Monday night, Romney said he wanted a more convincing win here.
“You’re going to make a statement tomorrow,” he said at a rally in Bedford. “Give me the boost I need.”
If Romney does indeed take New Hampshire, that will make him 2 and 0 at this point heading into South Carolina and that advantage may give him a fighting chance.
Update
Mitt Romney has been declared the winner in New Hampshire. Now the race for second begins but it is looking good for Huntsman and Paul.
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