On Tuesday, New Hampshire State Party Chairman Ray Buckley released this statement welcoming pundits and press to the Granite State:
Hello and welcome to New Hampshire!
We’re so excited to have you here as we head toward our First in the Nation Primary.
The New Hampshire primary is really anyone’s to win.
Here are a few reasons why:
- Politics here is very personal. While what you see or can quantify might be a TV ad, the debate, or an attention-grabbing speech, Granite Staters are seeing something else too. They’re meeting someone at their door who is supporting a candidate they haven’t thought about yet. They’re listening to who their state representative or neighbor is supporting and why. And they’re weighing how well a presidential candidate answered their question at a recent house party. These personal connections matter when Granite Staters choose a candidate.
- Local politics matter and are a part of the presidential conversation and calculus too. While every Democrat running for president is talking about their plans to raise the minimum wage, address climate change, enable parents to stay home with their newborns, improve and fund our public schools, and make schools safer for our kids, New Hampshire’s Republican Governor Chris Sununu has vetoed all of these common sense policies. And voters are looking to Democratic presidential candidates to lead on every one of these issues.
- We have lots of undeclared voters who have been let down by Donald Trump’s broken promises and plan to vote in the Democratic presidential primary. According to the Secretary of State, New Hampshire currently has 275,282 registered Democrats and 413,345 undeclared voters.
- People here take voting very seriously. Being a First in the Nation Primary voter is a huge responsibility. When you meet a voter at a campaign event, chances are they have met at least a handful of candidates. And on primary day, New Hampshire voters turn out. Year after year we have some of the highest voter participation in the country.
- Organizing matters. For almost a full year, Granite Staters have been volunteering, making calls, and going door to door for their candidate of choice. Combined, the Democratic presidential campaigns have called or knocked on the door of every Democrat in the state at least once. This outreach will benefit the campaign that’s best at it, and no matter the results, the enormous organizing efforts by all of the campaigns certainly gives Democrats an edge as we look toward November.
Thanks for coming, and I hope to see you around this week!
Happy First in the Nation Primary!
Sincerely,
Ray Buckley
Chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party
