New Hampshire presidential primary

Although only a few delegates are chosen in the New Hampshire primary, its real importance comes from the massive media coverage it receives, along with the first caucus in Iowa.

[2] An upset victory by an underdog candidate, or a weak showing by a front-runner can change the course of the primaries, as happened in 1952, 1968, and 2008 for the Democrats, and in 1980 for the Republicans.

Any person may run for president by (1) paying a $1,000 filing fee or collecting the signatures of 10 registered voters in each New Hampshire county and (2) completing a declaration of candidacy form that declares, under penalty of perjury, that the candidate meets the constitutional requirement for the presidency, being at least 35 years old, a natural-born citizen status, and a U.S. resident for at least 14 years.

[22] This has led many presidential candidates to visit the area before the New Hampshire primary in hopes of securing an early-morning boost.

[23] There is consensus among scholars and pundits that the New Hampshire primary, because of the timing and the vast media attention, can have a great impact and may even make, break or revive a candidate.

[24] Controlling for other factors statistically, a win in New Hampshire increases a candidate's share of the final primary count in all states by 27 percentage points.

Meeting or beating expectations can provide a candidate with national attention, often leading to an infusion of donations to a campaign that has spent most of its reserves.

In 1948, Richard F. Upton, speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives decided to make the primary "more interesting and meaningful…so there would be a greater turnout at the polls."

[31] The winner in New Hampshire has not always won their party's nomination, as demonstrated by Republicans Leonard Wood in 1920, Harold Stassen in 1948,[citation needed] Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. as a write-in candidate in 1964, Pat Buchanan in 1996, and John McCain in 2000, and Democrats Estes Kefauver in 1952 and 1956, Paul Tsongas in 1992, Hillary Clinton in 2008, and Bernie Sanders in 2016 and 2020.

In November 1967, Eugene McCarthy declared, "there comes a time when an honorable man simply has to raise the flag" and entered the New Hampshire Democratic primary.

Johnson subsequently withdrew from the election with this Shermanesque statement: "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.

"[32] One minor candidate in the Republican primary was William W. Evans Jr., a former New Jersey State Assemblyman, who received just 151 votes statewide.

[33] The 1968 New Hampshire Democratic primary was one of the crucial events in the politics of that landmark year in United States history.

Senator Eugene McCarthy began his campaign with a poem that he wrote in imitation of the poet Robert Lowell, "Are you running with me Jesus": I'm not matching my stride With Billy Graham's by the Clyde I'm not going for distance With the Senator's persistence I'm not trying to win a race even at George Romney's pace.

[34] George H. W. Bush emerged as the front-runner of the 1980 Republican presidential primary after his upset Iowa caucus victory over Ronald Reagan.

Worried that a newspaper-sponsored debate might violate electoral regulations, Reagan arranged to fund the event with his own campaign money, inviting the other candidates to participate at short notice.

Bill Clinton was able to declare himself the "Comeback Kid" after posting a surprise second-place finish behind Paul Tsongas in the Democratic primary.

On the Republican side, Pat Buchanan garnered an unexpected 37% showing behind incumbent President George H. W. Bush.

The result forecast a tough two-man race for the GOP nomination, which carried on until Super Tuesday in March.

Al Gore helped himself with a narrow win in the Democratic primary, which somewhat assuaged his supporters' concerns about Bill Bradley's insurgent campaign.

[citation needed] Senator John Kerry secured a decisive victory with 35% of the vote, 10 percentage points more than second-place finisher Howard Dean.

Hillary Clinton managed an upset win over Barack Obama in New Hampshire, despite polls showing her as much as 13 points behind in the run-up to the vote.

John McCain won the Republican primary, sparking an unexpected comeback for the senator whose long-shot campaign had been written off as a lost cause months before.

[42] Together with Donald Trump's double-digit win in the GOP race, the primary results revealed voter frustrations with mainstream "establishment" politicians.

[43] Bernie Sanders narrowly placed first in the Democratic primary once again, edging out former Mayor of South Bend Pete Buttigieg with 76,384 votes to 72,454.

Incumbent President Donald Trump won an overwhelming victory in the Republican primary with 129,734 votes, beating former Governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld by over 75 percentage points and receiving the most votes in the New Hampshire primary for an incumbent candidate in U.S. history, breaking Bill Clinton's 1996 record of 76,797.

New Hampshire State Senator Jack Barnes, who won the 2008 Republican contest, co-sponsored a bill in 2009 to eliminate the vice-presidential preference ballot.