Personal Connections Crucial in NH
Candidates rely on charm in the Granite State
Of all the aspects of the presidential race, campaign rhetoric is one of, if not the, most pivotal. The speeches that candidates give at town halls, the brief interactions at local restaurants, and the interviews concocted by the media all directly influence voters’ views. During the New Hampshire primary, words are especially paramount as voters interact with candidates face-to-face, often multiple times.
These experiences that voters from Iowa, New Hampshire, and other early primary states have are unlike the rest of the country. In states like New York or California, voters are informed by watching televised debates, listening to sound bites, and reading stories from national newspapers.
Ted Cruz joked about this at a meet-and-greet event today, saying voters can’t pick a candidate “because [they have] only seen them five times.”
Some voters attend events to broaden and deepen their view of the candidate. Taryn, an Independent who attended Carly Fiorina’s Super Bowl party, commented, “I’m in between Bernie and Carly.” Some voters go to have their pre-established perceptions confirmed. “I think [Cruz] is incredibly courageous. I think he has a really strong sense of ethics,” said Anne, a registered Republican from Pennsylvania, after listening to Cruz today.
What candidates have to say is equally important to how candidates listen, but only early states of the nomination are voters able to get such up close and personal access. Susannah Jones, a New Hampshire resident, agreed, saying,
“I think New Hampshire is lucky. We get to relate to the candidates on a personal level…[and] if a candidate can make a personal connection [that makes all the difference].”
These brief, unscripted moments can change the atmosphere dramatically. When Marco Rubio left his hotel room to board his campaign tour bus, Vermin Supreme got in a tussle with Rubio’s security guard. He imitated a chicken, complaining that Rubio was too scared to face Vermin. Yet just minutes earlier, he had been seeking votes from Rubio fans in the hotel lobby in a joking matter: “I’m on the ballot. You could vote for me — what’s funnier than that?!” The few devoted fans left the hotel uncomfortable and with Vermin’s crude manner — not Rubio’s welcoming smile and handshakes — in mind.
Throughout the months before the primaries and caucuses, each voter learns as little or as much as they please about their candidate. For most of New Hampshire, the few days before primary voting, the exchange between candidates and and citizens consists of handshakes and smiles, “hear-hears” and applause, “gosh diddlys” and y’all’s, and tense silences and shrieks of encouragement.
As Cruz put it,
“At the end of the day, it’s a job interview.”
And the voting booths tomorrow will let us know who scored the job.
