How many of these Huntsman supporters are actually NH voters?
In an earlier post, we spent a fair amount of time breaking down the economic impact of New Hampshire primary spending. (You can read that post here.)
But there was one aspect we didn’t really touch on, and that’s the money generated by tourists who come here to watch the First In The Nation primary up-close and in person.
“At a Santorum event in Hollis on Saturday, one audience member told the candidate that local voters were standing outside because the room was at capacity. A few minutes before, more than a third of the audience raised their hands when Santorum asked how many were from out of state. Only those with a valid New Hampshire driver’s license, he told them with a laugh, should ask questions.” Continue Reading →
The 2012 Republican presidential candidates just aren't investing as much in the New Hampshire race as usual. StateImpact scours political coverage to find out why.
There’s been a collective notion swirling among New Hampshire politicos and pundits that this year’s Republican primary just doesn’t stack up to past events. Candidates aren’t as anxious to go to town hall meetings and shake hands at nondescript diners. By and large, they’re not throwing astronomical sums of cash into unending TV ads. Yes, they’re here, touting the importance of the early New England vote. But they’re not entirely here, mentally and spiritually grounded in the Granite State, outwardly embracing its quirks, touting its special place in electoral politics (except for Jon Huntsman, that is) .
In short, there’s a well-documented sense in the media that somehow, somewhere along the line, New Hampshire’s First In The Nation primary has fallen off its granite pedestal.
The problem with nebulous sentiment, however, is that it’s tough to quantify.
So instead, we’re going to take a look at some of the latest coverage concerning political spending and the decline of retail politics to get a more solid sense of what this perceived shift could mean for New Hampshire. Continue Reading →
Pollster Andy Smith helps StateImpact dig into NH voter psychology after the jump
Given the national atmosphere, it’s difficult to overestimate the importance of each presidential hopeful’s economic blueprints as the New Hampshire primary draws closer. (Our cheat sheet of the GOP candidates’ positions on the economy is available here.)
This year, longtime NH pollster Andy Smith, who directs the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, says it’s far and away the economy that will determine candidates’ vote counts.
That may seem kind of obvious on the surface. But not once you start drilling down into the key questions — the whys and the hows. Why’s Mitt Romney doing so well in New Hampshire (besides the fact he’s got a summer home here)? And how, exactly, is the economy affecting voter perceptions and behavior?
So after reviewing the UNH Survey Center’s recent WMUR Granite State poll, we talked voter psychology with Smith. And that discussion yielded our list of six surprising things about New Hampshire voters and the economy: Continue Reading →
We've got the weekly roundup of the StateImpact posts you loved most!
It’s late Friday afternoon. And we wouldn’t blame you for feeling a bit fidgety at your desk. So in the spirit of combating pre-weekend restlessness, we bring you this week’s roundup of our most popular posts–the stuff people are talking about, and you just might’ve missed in the mid-week bustle.
1. The Ultimate NH Primary Cheat Sheet: Where The Candidates Stand on Economic Policy: This is by far our most popular post of the week, in terms of both clicks and comments. We break down the Republican presidential candidates’ economic plans into easy-to-read roundups of their views of personal taxes, corporate taxes, and government spending.
2. The States With The Best And Worst Wage Laws For Home Health Workers: Our top post of 2011 is still drawing a respectable number of clicks (and reams of comments). This color-coded map illustrates which states have minimum wage and overtime provisions for home health workers, which have neither, and which fall somewhere in between. Continue Reading →
“Two dollar Powerball tickets will mean more prizes and more million-dollar winners, New Hampshire Lottery Executive Director Charles R. McIntyre said Wednesday.
The last drawing for $1 Powerball tickets will be Saturday, Jan. 14; the $2 tickets will go on sale Jan. 15.
‘It’ll be easier to win, the odds are lower, there will be more $1 million winners throughout the country and hopefully in New Hampshire,’ he said. Continue Reading →
Despite NH's vaunted retail politics atmosphere, not everyone's up to shaking a candidate's hand over breakfast
It’s pretty much a given that when presidential candidates want to chat up the citizenry, they include a hearty portion of local restaurant stops in their schedules. That’s especially true in an important early primary state like New Hampshire. Footage of politicians smiling, shaking hands, and chowing down wings served by smiling waiters at Any Diner, USA, is a staple of TV political coverage.
State legislators looking back at 2011 say they kept their promises to make the state more business friendly. House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt told the Union Leader that Republicans fulfilled their agenda.
While Republicans were concentrating on crafting a fiscally responsible budget, rolling back regulations and taxes on businesses, and creating jobs, Democrats and some in the media were obsessed with social issues, he said. “We passed dozens of pieces of legislation that will keep the ‘Open for Business’ sign up in New Hampshire,” Bettencourt said.
With the Iowa Caucus wrapped-up, the focus is on New Hampshire's First In The Nation primary
After months of political debates, ad buying, and hand-shaking, the New Hampshire Republican primary is finally upon us. And not surprisingly, the latest WMUR Granite State Poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center shows that the economy/jobs is the top issue for about 60 percent of the state’s voters.
The Iowa Caucuses have winnowed the field ever so slightly, with Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann suspending her campaign. Texas Governor Rick Perry took a night to reassess his path forward and decided today he’s continuing on to South Carolina, despite a fifth place showing.
That still leaves a lot of research to be done for undecided voters. Continue Reading →
Conservationists and Northern Pass Are Vying for the Same Land
The Union Leader reports that donations poured in online over the holiday weekend to the conservation group, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, to buy 5,800 acres from the Balsams Wilderness Resort. The paper reports that the group received more than 100 online contributions to help raise $850,000 to buy the land.
The parcel includes an area which Northern Pass Transmission, LLC, hopes to purchase to build its power lines.
It’s the latest move in a back-and-forth with high stakes — owners of Northern Pass say the massive energy project will bring needed jobs to the financially ailing North Country, while environmentalists object to the proposed power lines. They say lines cutting through the northern woods and the White Mountain National Forest will hurt the habitat and create greenhouse gases from submerged rotting vegetation.
The Union Leader has more on the sale:
Northern Pass Transmission, LLC, had offered $3 million for the right-of-way to the Neil Tillotson Trust for the land surrounding the Balsams Resort, but trustees decided in favor of the Forest Society, signing a purchase-and-sales agreement Dec. 6.
Northern Pass challenged the deal, but the Attorney General’s Office responded that the trustees were acting within their right.
A look back at this year’s major state budget cuts shows who took the hardest hits in New Hampshire. As the Nashua Telegraph reports, with $1 billion slashed from the budget, more agencies than usual felt the effects.
Republican legislators heralded the budget as a victory for smaller government, shaving more than $1 billion, or 11 percent, off the prior spending plan.
…
But many state Democrats decried the budget for digging too deeply into some of the state’s most essential services and programs.
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