The voters have spoken and, while write-ins may make have delayed final tallies in the New Hampshire presidential primaries, they didn't delay the result.
President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, both handily won their parties' contests on Tuesday — Biden through a write-in campaign after a scheduling spat between the national and state Democratic parties left his name off the ballot.
It was Trump's third Granite State primary win in three tries, but Biden's first in four tries. By the time what's traditionally been the first-in-the-nation primary came around in 1988 and 2016, he'd already left the presidential races. In 2020, he came in fifth place, but ended up surging in South Carolina to win the Democratic nomination for president.
Now the incumbent president, surrogates organized a write-in campaign for Biden in Tuesday's contest that cleared away opposition from Rep. Dean Phillips, of Minnesota, and 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, though their names were both on the ballot.
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The GOP race was painted as a major test for Nikki Haley, who became the last major rival to Trump left standing after a bruising campaign, and a potential stumbling block for the former president's march toward a third successive nomination. NBC News expects turnout in their matchup to reach 330,000, which is the most in a single party's presidential primary in history.
The previous record was set by the 2020 Democratic primary, where more than 298,000 people gave Sanders the edge over former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg of Indiana and the rest of a crowded field. The record for highest combined turnout remains the 2016 primaries, the last time there wasn't an incumbent president running.
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Haley's next chance to make a major statement will be in upcoming primary in her home state of South Carolina, on Feb. 24. Republican analyst Pat Griffin said she needs to start racking up victories to stick around much longer
"In order to stay in these races, you have to win somewhere. You have to be able to point to where you've won or places where you think you can win," he told NBC10 Boston.
Trump, for his part, will need to find a broader audience, according to Griffin: "His floor could be his ceiling, and if that's the case, even an inept Joe Biden beats him in this election."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
