Dixville Notch Midnight Vote was split 3-3 between Trump and Harris — but the small town isn't much of an indicator

Topline

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump each secured three votes as the small New Hampshire town of Dixville Notch completed its long-standing tradition of being the first in the country to announce its results – even though the town's results have been far off in the past from predicting the statewide vote or national result.

Important facts

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Big number

4.9 points. That's the size of Harris' polling lead in New Hampshire, according to FiveThirtyEight's weighted average of the state's polls.

Important background

Despite Dixville Notch's longstanding tradition of being the “first in the country” to announce election results, the city's track record as a frontrunner is far from perfect. Earlier this year, all six of the city's voters supported Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primary, but she ultimately lost the state to Trump by 10 points. In the 2020 presidential election, Biden scored a resounding 5-0 victory against Trump in the city, winning the state by more than seven points. In 2016, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton beat Trump 4-2 in the city and led the state by a razor-thin margin of 0.4 points. Ten votes were cast in the city in 2012, with former President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney each receiving five votes – but Obama won the state by a margin of 5.5 points.

Further reading

Haley beats Trump in top midnight vote in Dixville (Forbes)