As Primary Day Nears, N.H.'s 'Independent' Voters Weigh a Wide Range of Options

New Hampshire voters have a lot of options in the 2020 presidential primary — not only because of the large field of candidates on the left, but also because President Trump is facing a rare challenge within his own party.

In New Hampshire, the most popular political party is no party at all: Undeclared or “independent” voters make up the biggest chunk of the electorate. And heading into the 2020 presidential primary, they are the voters with the most choices to make — not just what candidate to support, but what party's primary to vote in. As Primary Day nears, both voters and campaigns are trying to take advantage of this freedom.

Mike and Sherry Cotton have spent most of their lives as Republicans, until a few weeks ago, when they decided they’d finally had enough. The president’s rhetoric, his foreign policy decisions, his contributions to the federal deficit. It was getting to be too much.

“Right now, the Republicans are a disgrace,” Mike said, a few minutes after filing paperwork to leave the party. “Actually, our whole system's a disgrace. But the Republicans more so, our president being the number one.”

Read more: https://www.nhpr.org/post/primary-day-nears-nhs-independent-voters-weigh-wide-range-options