New Hampshire live updates: Exit polls show voters making last-minute decisions

New Hampshire live updates: Exit polls show voters making last-minute decisions

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- The first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary heated up on Tuesday -- to potentially become the first decisive outcome this cycle after the tumultuous Iowa caucuses -- and the candidates are making their final pleas to voters across the state to outline their vision for the country, rebuke President Donald Trump, call for party unity and make more overt contrasts with their rivals.

While former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders battle it out for the top spot in the primary, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden are jockeying for a last-minute boost, as both have found themselves in a tight race for third and fourth place in recent polling.

Here's how the day is unfolding. Please refresh for updates.

6:31 p.m. ABC News partner FiveThirtyEight is up with their live blog

ABC News partner FiveThirtyEight is up with their live analysis blog.

Welcome to New Hampshire primary night!! Hopefully, we’ll actually get results tonight in a timely fashion (looking at you, Iowa).

A crew of FiveThirtyEighters has been here on the ground in New Hampshire since the debate on Friday, and we’ve been busy covering candidate events and hitting the campaign trail (and maybe a tattoo parlor) ever since.

Our primary forecast is frozen. We won't update it with any new data, including polls, until all the results from New Hampshire are it. In New Hampshire, our forecast suggests Sanders is likely to win the most votes, with a 2 in 3 shot. Buttigieg has about a 3 in 10 chance of winning the most votes. The likelihood for the other 2020 candidates to finish first tonight is low.

Check out Nate Silver’s piece on 28 scenarios for how things could shake out in New Hampshire and beyond — but remember that whoever finishes in second or third place could capture a lot of media attention, too, depending on the margin. For instance, a strong second-place finish by Buttigieg could keep him viable, and a second-place finish by Warren or Klobuchar could jumpstart either one of their campaigns.

6 p.m. Democratic voters making last-minute decisions.

About 48% of Democratic primary voters said they made up their minds about their chosen candidate either on Tuesday or within the last few days, with 16% deciding today, according to preliminary results from the New Hampshire primary exit poll.

About 59% of Democratic primary voters said they don't think Trump's impeachment made a difference in his chance of being re-elected, and about 64% of Republican primary voters said they think it helped his chances.

Turnout among conservatives is at a record-high in the GOP primary, with about 81% labeling themselves as conservatives, up from the previous record of 71% in 2016. About 61% of voters in the Democratic contests are liberals, according to the preliminary exit polls.

About 83% of GOP voters say they support building a wall "along the entire U.S. border with Mexico," and about 88% say Trump has mostly kept his campaign promises.

ABC News' Polling Unit Director Gary Langer reported.

Democratic presidential candidates Andrew Yang, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Tom Steyer participate in the Democratic presidential primary debate in the Sullivan Arena at St. Anselm College on February 07, 2020 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Democratic presidential candidates Andrew Yang, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Tom Steyer participate in the Democratic presidential primary debate in the Sullivan Arena at St. Anselm College on February 07, 2020 in Manchester, New Hampshire.Joe Raedle/Getty Images5:15 p.m. Turnout among independents and liberals is running high.

Turnout among these two groups may hold the key to the Democratic primary, according to preliminary results from the New Hampshire primary exit poll.

About 45% of voters in the early results are independents, compared to 40% in 2016, when independents boosted Sanders to an overwhelming victory in New Hampshire, winning 73% of their votes versus Hillary Clinton.

On the issues, about 58% of voters said they support a single government health plan for all Americans, matching to about 57% in the Iowa caucuses, and about 37% called health care the most important issue for their vote, according to the preliminary results from the exit polls.

ABC News' Polling Unit Director Gary Langer reported.

5:15 p.m. Here's the state of play in New Hampshire so far.

Under pressure to excel in the Granite State amid a fiercely competitive race, many candidates have camped out in the state since early last week, spending much time openly criticizing their rivals' records and experience.

Democratic presidential candidates Andrew Yang, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Tom Steyer participate in the Democratic presidential primary debate in the Sullivan Arena at St. Anselm College on February 07, 2020 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Democratic presidential candidates Andrew Yang, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Tom Steyer participate in the Democratic presidential primary debate in the Sullivan Arena at St. Anselm College on February 07, 2020 in Manchester, New Hampshire.Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Only eight days after the contest in Iowa -- caucuses which were thrown into turmoil due to "inconsistencies" in reporting results -- two front-runners have emerged.

The state Democratic Party ultimately projected former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg the winner of the caucuses Sunday night, awarding him two more delegates than his closest competitor, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders - setting up a bitter fight between the two in New Hampshire.

While Buttigieg and Sanders battle it out for the top spot in the primary, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden are jockeying for a last-minute boost, as both have found themselves in a tight race for third and fourth place in recent polling.

Democratic presidential candidate former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg greets supporters outside a polling station at Broad Street Elementary School, Feb. 11, 2020 in Nashua, N.H.

Democratic presidential candidate former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg greets supporters outside a polling station at Broad Street Elementary School, Feb. 11, 2020 in Nashua, N.H.Win Mcnamee/Getty Images

Though Biden has seemingly already admitted defeat in New Hampshire -- announcing plans to skip out early and head to South Carolina ahead of the Feb. 29 primary.

But New Hampshire is also crowded by eleventh-hour momentum from Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, as well as a slate of lower-tier contenders vying to drain some support from the top two tiers, including Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

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