New Hampshire Voters Take to Polls in 1st-in-Nation Primary

New Hampshire on Monday is hosting the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, featuring candidates for the Republican and Democratic nomination. Of the state's 1.33 million residents, more than 870,000 residents are registered to vote. Polls started opening at 7 a.m., except for a handful of communities that begin voting just after midnight. In Dixville Notch, voters in that tiny town gave Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich two votes, Republican Donald Trump got two and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders won four votes for his Democratic bid.

The candidates continued to reach out to voters and made rounds on TV shows on Tuesday.

Chris Christie told his campaign volunteers to work now, celebrate later.

Visiting his Bedford headquarters, Christie said the Republican contest is far from over, and that the campaign has much work to do to get voters to the polls.

Christie continued to tout his performance in Saturday's debate, during which he came down hard on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, saying it solidified the central premise of his campaign: that his work and life experience make him the best prepared to take on Hillary Clinton and win the presidency. And he says he's fine with others criticizing his record, because at least he has one.

Jeb Bush,  buoyed by some favorable poll numbers and growing crowds at his town halls, was hammering away at Trump, saying his own experience as a two-term Florida governor is a better presidential qualification.

Bush, appearing on Fox News Tuesday, says he's determined to knock down Trump because he says "this guy is not a conservative" and he cannot "win by insulting your way to the presidency."

Bush says he's the only candidate offering detailed plans to lift people out of poverty, raise middle class incomes and keep the country safe.

He says "that's what people want," not "the insults and all the divisiveness."

Speaking to MSNBC's "Morning Joe" as polls opened, Trump said his campaign is $45 million under budget as he enters the second race of the presidential nomination process.

He acknowledged that he's polled well in the Granite State but urged people to go out and vote.

Trump also addressed a possible third-party run by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, calling Bloomberg his friend, but acknowledging some of his shortfalls as mayor with regard to property development.

Trump has maintained a lead in most New Hampshire polls among his Republican contenders leading up to Tuesday's primary.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich avoided making predictions and focused on his economic plans for the country, instead.

Speaking to "Morning Joe" Kasich said he expects a "strong finish" in the first-in-the-nation primary, but emphasized his wishes to maintain a positive campaign that promotes job creation and economic prosperity for the American people.

One of Hillary Clinton's morning stops put her face-to-face with Frank Fiorina, the husband of Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina.

Clinton and Fiorina greeted each other at a middle school in Derry, New Hampshire that serves as a polling site.

Clinton asked Fiorina, "Isn't it amazing?"

Fiorina joked that he's not crazy about the snow but the people who come to the polls are "amazing."

Clinton added, "Give my best to Carly."

Independent voters, officially known as "undeclared," make up 44 percent of registered voters in New Hampshire. They can vote in either primary, making them a key group on Tuesday. Here are snapshots of voters who went to the polls Tuesday:

Greg St. Laurent, a 68-year-old computer engineer who lives in Manchester and works over the border for a small Massachusetts firm, cast his ballot for Kasich in the GOP primary.

"I think it's a very interesting process that we need to go through. I think the bulk of the country is indicating its displeasure with the establishment. So, I think it's important that everyone comes out to vote in the primary to indicate whatever pleasure or displeasure they have," he said.

"The division between the parties is greater than it has been. Being a kid, I remember people a lot more united behind a particular candidate."

Cait McKay, 29, of Manchester, voted for Sanders, who is locked in a tough battle with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. McKay works as a supervisor at a residential care facility for children with special needs.

"The biggest issue that I hear from everyone is the economy, the economy, the economy, the economy," McKay said. "But, those aren't the biggest issues to me. I am more interested in gender equality, in equal pay and equality for everyone in health care — in just building a better society for everyone. Other countries all over the world have it so why is it so crazy to think that we can have it, too?"

"I really find it odd that one side is scrabbling so hard against each other to find one person that they're all supposed to support. I mean, how is everyone going to pick someone so specific if they can't even get along with each other inside their party? That's one of the reasons that I really like Bernie. He's not taking the negative ads or the negative stabs at everyone. If you can't get along with the people that you're supposed to get along with, how can you go across the aisle and get along with anybody in the government?"

Merton Grant, 87, and his wife, Phyllis, 80, say they voted for Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz because he's a born-again Christian like them.

"It was a tough choice. There were a lot of candidates, but we had to agree. Otherwise, why cancel each other's votes?" said Merton Grant, a retired real estate agent.

The Nashua couple, lifelong Republicans married for 58 years, said they paid close attention to the debates but met just one candidate face-to-face: Ben Carson, who attended Sunday services at their church this past weekend. "Nice guy. Not sure he has a chance, though," said Merton Grant.

Phyllis Grant, a retired nurse, said the two were ultimately swayed by the way Cruz handled himself in debates.

Troye Fennell, 53, is a Goffstown resident who spent 18 years living overseas — including the United Kingdom, Turkey and Jamaica. He voted for Clinton.

"I have been a supporter of Hillary for a long time, mostly because I like the way she conducts herself in her personal life and I loved the way she conducted herself as secretary of state. And I think that in the world that we are living in now she's probably the most qualified because of her familiarity with international politics and the way America is perceived in other countries," Fennell said. "I think she has a bit more of a global view, which I think is more in line with what I think. I've lived in a few different countries. I think the way Americans are viewed abroad, she has a better fit for that going in than the others do."

Not everyone votes in New Hampshire, despite its prominence in the presidential primary season.

Richard Kipphut, 61, moved to New Hampshire in 2006 from his native Connecticut. He has yet to take advantage of voting in the first-in-the-nation primary.

A librarian at Plymouth State University, where he orders, catalogs and processes all its books, Kipphut says it's just too early to cast a vote and he doesn't like to have to declare for one of the major parties to vote in the primary.

Kipphut is an unaffiliated voter, and he usually votes for Democratic candidates — though he says he voted for Republican Richard Nixon in his first presidential election.

"I know you're supposed to say every vote matters. I don't think it's going to matter much, at least not for me," he said.

So he's opting out. When the barrage of commercials from the candidates pops up on TV, he puts it on mute. He's having a tougher time ignoring the ads on his social media news feed. But it will take a break after Tuesday's primary, and Kipphut will vote in the general election.

John Starer, 72, of Bedford, a Republican who owns a company that makes glue sticks, voted for Cruz.

"I think he's about the only one who could possibly get elected as a Republican. I'd like to think Trump had a chance, but no," he said.

He said Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, also vying for the GOP nomination, lacks the experience to be president. "Maybe next time around."

Starer said he made up his mind about five minutes before he voted after narrowing down his choice to Trump or Cruz.

"The most important thing is to get back to our original values. We have to have someone who can put a coalition together, someone who's closer to a Reagan Republican."

Megan Tolstenko, 33, an unaffiliated voter from Manchester, voted in the GOP primary for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

"He pulled on my heartstrings," said Tolstenko, who works in the financial services industry.

She described herself as "scared out of my mind" about the Islamic State group and thinks Christie would be best able to manage the country's defenses.

"It's nice to see someone who's not forgetting about our role in the world," she said.

She met Christie last summer.

"I didn't think I was going to vote for him then. Today, I woke up this morning and something clicked," she said. "I will be honest with you — this whole season has been a struggle. I've gone back-and-forth between both political sides. At the end of the day, I need someone who has compassion and cares about the world as well as the United States. It seems like some candidates have lost sight of that, but for some reason, it just seemed like he always had that on his mind, and he talked about it in every speech. There was some integrity there, and that resonated with me."

Nicole Reitano, a 24-year-old embroiderer from Nashua, says she voted for Sanders because she likes his economic policies and the fact that he supports abortion rights.

"I felt like he was the most honest," Reitano said. "He's had the same views forever, and he's never budged. That makes me feel confident in him."

An independent who voted for President Obama in 2012, she briefly considered voting for Clinton.

"She seems to flip flop a little bit, but if she ended up winning instead of Bernie, I would be OK with that. Anybody but Trump is good for me. Pretty much."

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