Rick Perry 2012 Campaign for President– News and updates


Q&A: Why New Hampshire matters


By Carla Marinucci, San Francisco Chronicle

With the Iowa caucuses in the rearview mirror, the political establishment and the candidates turn their attention to the first primary of the 2012 presidential election in New Hampshire.

Here’s a look at the basics of Tuesday’s vote:

Q: Is the New Hampshire primary a kingmaker?

A: No. Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and George W. Bush did not win it. Still, the contest is one to watch. If a candidate makes a strong showing, as Clinton did to become the “Comeback Kid” in 1992, money can pour in, pundits will pay attention and volunteers will sign up. But a poor showing can be the end of the line.

Mitt Romney’s father, then-Michigan Gov. George Romney, learned that the hard way when his 1968 GOP presidential bid ended after he said he was “brainwashed” into supporting the Vietnam War. That year, Democratic challenger Eugene McCarthy came within 7 points of President Lyndon Johnson in New Hampshire, enough to convince Johnson not to seek re-election.

Q: Why does this contest receive so much coverage?

A: Candidates are vetted in New Hampshire like in no other state. It is where Bill Clinton confronted allegations about an affair with Gennifer Flowers; where Sen. Ed Muskie broke into tears (he later said it was melting snow) in front of a newspaper office after the publisher wrote an article critical of his wife; and where Ronald Reagan in 1980 quipped during a debate, “I am paying for this microphone.”

Q: How does New Hampshire’s primary work?

A: It’s not technically an open primary, where Republicans can cast ballots in the Democratic primary and vice versa. But New Hampshire does allow undeclared or decline-to-state voters to cast a ballot in either the Democratic or Republican primary. The role of the independent voters in the process make the vote unpredictable and fascinating to watch.

Q: Why does New Hampshire get to be first in the nation?

A: Tradition. The state has successfully fought to maintain the position, moving up its contest repeatedly to be right after Iowa, which holds a caucus instead of a primary. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who said this year that “the people of Iowa pick corn, the people of New Hampshire pick presidents,’’ isn’t the first to make that observation. Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu said the same thing in 1988.

Dana Thompson