Republicans Predict Turnout in New Hampshire’s Primary Could Set a Record

Republicans are predicting that Tuesday’s vote in New Hampshire could break primary turnout records in the state, as former President Donald J. Trump seeks another strong showing against his rivals, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis.

The current Republican primary record of about 285,000 votes was set in 2016, when Mr. Trump defeated a crowded G.O.P. field and set the tone for his eventual clinching of the party’s nomination. It would also eclipse the total from the Democratic primary in 2020, when about 297,000 votes were cast.

The potential surge would represent a stark contrast from the meager turnout last week in Iowa’s Republican caucuses, which was the lowest in more than a decade as people contended with subzero temperatures.

“We’re expecting a record or a near record,” Chris Ager, the chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, said in an interview on Friday.

Mr. Ager suggested that as many as 300,000 people could participate in the primary, the nation’s first, which is also open to independent voters. That key voter bloc accounts for about 39 percent of New Hampshire’s roughly 900,000 voters, according the Secretary of State — the remaining electorate is split between Republicans and Democrats.

Some Republicans set even higher expectations for turnout on Tuesday, including Americans for Prosperity Action, a political network founded by the billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch. The group, which is supporting Ms. Haley, said that its data partner was predicting that turnout could approach 330,000 voters.

“The one thing that distinguishes New Hampshire from other states: It’s just the breadth of participation in the primary,” Greg Moore, a regional director for Americans for Prosperity Action, said at a news conference on Friday.

David M. Scanlan, New Hampshire’s secretary of state and a Republican who oversees elections, on Friday predicted that 322,000 people would turn out for the G.O.P. primary.

Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, a Republican who has also endorsed Ms. Haley, took a swipe at Iowa’s low turnout during an event for Ms. Haley on Tuesday night in Bretton Woods, N.H., where more than 100 people showed up in a snowstorm.

“Iowa didn’t do a very good job with it,” he said. “Voter turnout was very, very low in Iowa. But here in New Hampshire we understand what this is all about, and we understand the rest of the country is watching and praying that we get this one right.”