President Donald Trump, with Republican challengers on the ballot, scored more votes in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday than Barack Obama did uncontested in 2012.
And he didn’t exactly just squeak out the victory either.
According to CNN’s poll tracker, the President garnered over 119,000 votes even with former governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld challenging. The total also included other write-in votes.
According to a Washington Examiner report, Obama garnered roughly 49,000 votes in the Granite State despite having no opposition.
Now, you might say “Of course Obama had fewer votes, why would people turn out if he had no opposition?”
However, just as Obama ran unopposed, there is zero chance that Weld or anybody else would present a true challenge to Trump, so the President’s voters had equally little incentive to turn out.
So what he’s saying is that Trump got about 86% in the GOP primary.
For context, here are the last 3 incumbent presidents running for re-election, and their vote percentages in New Hampshire:
1996 Bill Clinton 84%
2004 George W. Bush 80%
2012 Barack Obama 82%Context matters. https://t.co/5OBQAud3bD
— Tim Murtaugh – Text TRUMP to 88022 (@TimMurtaugh) February 12, 2020
RELATED: Sanders Takes Democratic New Hampshire Primary
Trump Celebrates
The media (or Messaging Department for the Democrat party) is doing its best to spin the narrative that Weld’s performance is a blow to Trump.
It’s not. They’re lying.
The President received nearly 86 percent of the vote, while past incumbents performed at a lesser rate than that (Clinton earned 84 percent in 1996, Bush received 80 percent in 2004, and Obama captured 82 percent – unopposed – in 2012.)
Trump with 114,000 votes in NH, a record beating Reagan. His 86% same as Reagan’s all time high for an unopposed candidate.
— Larry Schweikart (@LarrySchweikart) February 12, 2020
Trump celebrated his performance on social media.
“The Fake News Media is looking hard for the Big Democrat Story, but there is nothing too fabulous,” he tweeted. “Wouldn’t a big story be that I got more New Hampshire Primary Votes than any incumbent president, in either party, in the history of that Great State? Not an insignificant fact!”
Thank you Brad! https://t.co/qv4qcj704y
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 12, 2020
RELATED: President Trump Cuts Rally Short, Makes Unannounced Trip to Pay Respects to Fallen Soldiers
Enthusiasm is Through the Roof
New Hampshire’s voter turnout shows there is no lack of enthusiasm when it comes to Trump supporters.
While Democrats are flailing with an extreme socialist claiming the mantle for their party in Bernie Sanders, and two great white hopes in Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden performing terribly, the President continues to ride high.
Fake News @CNN and MSDNC have not surprisingly refused to talk about my record setting number of voters in New Hampshire (and in Iowa). That’s why they are poorly rated Fake News! I will win both states in November.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 12, 2020
“Democratic turnout in New Hampshire on Tuesday, like turnout in Iowa last week, wasn’t especially robust,” an op-ed in the New York Times reads.
As for Bernie, they write: “This movement isn’t driving voters to the polls.”
Democrats might be struggling to unite and excite their voters, but if these record-setting numbers in Iowa and New Hampshire are any indications, the Trump train will continue chugging right along.
