NH primary makes Granite State center of national politics
The New Hampshire primary puts the Granite State at the center of national attention every four years.The first-in-the-nation primary gives a small state like New Hampshire a big voice when it comes to presidential elections. But it doesn’t always come down to who wins or loses. It’s about a proud civic culture and the candidates who come to test themselves against some of the savviest voters in the United States.Now, 250 years after the beginning of the American experiment, one of the greatest electoral traditions in U.S. history is under siege.The New Hampshire primary has been the first-in-the-nation presidential primary for a century, but at the national level, the Democratic Party continues to question whether the Granite State truly belongs at the forefront of its presidential nominating process.>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go
The New Hampshire primary puts the Granite State at the center of national attention every four years.
The first-in-the-nation primary gives a small state like New Hampshire a big voice when it comes to presidential elections. But it doesn’t always come down to who wins or loses. It’s about a proud civic culture and the candidates who come to test themselves against some of the savviest voters in the United States.
Now, 250 years after the beginning of the American experiment, one of the greatest electoral traditions in U.S. history is under siege.
The New Hampshire primary has been the first-in-the-nation presidential primary for a century, but at the national level, the Democratic Party continues to question whether the Granite State truly belongs at the forefront of its presidential nominating process.
>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go
Top local Democrats recently made their case for New Hampshire to the Democratic National Committee Rules & Bylaws Committee.
“The first state should be the one with the lowest barrier of entry, where any candidate with a good message can afford the price of admission,” said U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire. “On this point, New Hampshire stands alone.”
Threats to the New Hampshire primary are not new, but the primary has endured, thanks in part to being strongly tethered to the foundational principles in the Declaration of Independence. New Hampshire lives and breathes “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
“I think New Hampshire voters like to look candidates in the eye and really decide for themselves No. 1, does this person know what they’re talking about?” said former Gov. John H. Sununu. “But No. 2, are they talking about it in an honest way? I think issues count, and I think character counts.”
The primary is never the deciding contest in a presidential nomination, but it always leaves its mark on American history. Twice in the 20th century, the power of the primary voters of New Hampshire was so self-evident, the results prompted almost instantaneous change, with two different sitting presidents abandoning their reelection campaigns.
The first instance was in 1952, when Sen. Estes Kefauver of Tennessee came to New Hampshire as a Democratic challenger to President Harry Truman. Kefauver’s ability to connect with the people sent a clear message to the White House.
“Estes Kefauver won that election,” said Neil Levesque of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. “The most surprised person at the time was Estes Kefauver, who really campaigned for the first time in New Hampshire showing that if you meet the people and you make a good message here in New Hampshire, you can win.”
In 1968, presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy came to New Hampshire and inspired younger voters with his anti-war message. While he didn’t win the primary, the momentum he generated was undeniable.
President Lyndon Johnson recognized it immediately, and two weeks after the New Hampshire vote came in, Johnson was out.
Times have changed. New Hampshire could have created a similar political thunderclap in 2024 amid threats to the primary and President Joe Biden’s lackluster reelection bid. But no great challenger emerged, and Granite State Democrats opted for a write-in campaign for Biden that ended up delivering the most decisive result in the 2024 primary process, even though Democrats at the national level attempted to declare New Hampshire’s tradition “meaningless.”
The New Hampshire primary is ever-changing. In an era of social media-driven suspicion and a sharp partisan divide, it may never regain the same magic that made it a touchstone of American politics for decades.
History will be made again in 2028. Under state law, New Hampshire will vote first, no matter what a political party decides. The people of the Granite State remain steadfast in their tradition of civic engagement.
The pledge of lives, fortunes and sacred honor made by the founders in the Declaration of Independence is affirmed and celebrated with each primary ballot cast: a simple, individual act that carries the power to change the course of human events.
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