3 things we learned from New Hampshire primary voters

Former President Donald Trump gained momentum for his reelection bid coming out of New Hampshire's 2024 presidential primary this week, adding another win after his success in Iowa. Former U.S. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Trump's only GOP rival left, came in second in the Granite State, returning to the campaign trail to raise more funds.

Beyond delegates and bragging rights for candidates, primaries can also give insight into what matters to voters. During the New Hampshire primary, the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research surveyed more than 1,890 Republican primary voters and 873 Democratic primary voters. Those surveys help AP make calls in elections, and also offer a look at who is voting and what they care about.

Here's a snapshot of these candidates' supporters, according to AP VoteCast.

Who showed up for Trump?

In New Hampshire, Trump held a majority of support across generations, particularly among GenZ voters and Baby Boomers. But his appeal was especially pronounced among voters from low-income households and with a high school education or less.

"Trump has, in many ways, drawn people into the party who weren't there before and then relied on them for support," Republican strategist Whit Ayres said.

Among surveyed voters whose household income was under $50,000, 65 percent said they supported Trump, versus 33 percent who said they backed Haley. Looking at households earning $100,000 or more, the favored candidate flipped, with a narrower margin. A majority of voters with higher income – 54 percent – supported Haley, while 44 percent stood by Trump.

Voters who had earned a high school diploma or less were far more likely to support Trump than Haley, while college graduates were more likely to throw their support behind Haley during this week's primaries. According to AP VoteCast data, 70 percent of people with a high school education or less backed Trump. At the same time, 57 percent of people who graduated from college supported Haley. That support for Haley rose to 66 percent among people who pursued postgraduate study.

In her concession speech, Haley congratulated Trump on his victory, saying "he earned it, and I want to acknowledge that." She added that New Hampshire is "first in the nation, it's not the last in the nation."

"Nikki Haley's narrow path to the nomination got narrower," Ayres said. "Obviously, the odds are long, but she's still in the race."

While Trump holds a majority of support regardless of age, there's a U-shaped curve of enthusiasm for Trump across generations:

• 58 percent of voters ages 18 to 29 said they stood by Trump, compared to 40 percent of people in that age group who said the same about Haley
• About half of voters ages 30 to 64 supported Trump.
• 56 percent of voters age 65 or older, said they backed Trump.

What matters most to Republican voters in New Hampshire

Immigration and the economy were among the most important issues to Trump voters in New Hampshire this week, while abortion and foreign policy were top of mind for Haley voters, data from AP VoteCast showed.

Among people who said immigration was the most important issue facing the country, 73 percent were Trump voters. For those who said the economy and jobs were most important, 53 percent backed Trump.

At the same time, among those who said abortion was the nation's top issue, 73 percent voted for Haley. Among those who said foreign policy mattered the most, 69 percent were Haley supporters

But broadly considering what will compel voters to show up during the primaries and caucuses, "The issues are much less important than the image of Donald Trump," Ayres said. "Donald Trump has so taken over the Republican Party that the coalitions are not so much determined by issues as they are by attitudes about Donald Trump."

'Complete and total upheaval'

Another striking shared characteristic of Trump's backers in New Hampshire: They were far more likely than Haley supporters to say they want to see a complete and total upheaval in how the United States is run, according to VoteCast.

Among those surveyed, 83 percent of voters who said they wanted to radically change how the country is governed supported Trump.

Those Trump supporters who also "want to blow things up" point to "the whole history of populism," Ayres said. "It's essentially anti – anti-establishment, anti-expertise, anti-media, anti-, anti-, anti-. The populists have a very difficult time making a positive agenda."

If reelected, Trump's presidency "would be an incredibly disruptive four years," Ayres said.

In contrast, though Haley claimed Tuesday night in her speech that the political establishment doesn't want her to win, her supporters were far less likely – just 15 percent – to seek a drastic transformation of government.