Today, we had the opportunity to meet with multiple political experts and representatives in New Hampshire who shared their “behind the scenes” knowledge of primary voters in the state.
We kicked off the morning by meeting with Jim Demers, former senior advisor to the (now ended) campaign for Cory Booker. Jim was also the senior advisor for Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016 and Barack Obama’s in 2008. He introduced us to his adorable Boxer, Bolt, who all of us instantly fell in love with. Jim spent most of the morning giving us an insider perspective on what it’s like to man a presidential campaign. He also spoke to us about his time in the New Hampshire state legislature, which is the largest in the nation with 400 members!
Afterwards, we were able to spend some downtime at our hotel for a few hours to prepare ourselves for the long afternoon and evening of driving ahead of us.
We traveled south to the University of New Hampshire campus where we met with Dr. Andy Smith, Political Science professor and director of the UNH/CNN poll. He is also the co-author of the textbook that we read last semester to prep us for our time in New Hampshire! Andy gave us a thorough presentation of polling in New Hampshire, including its history and the state-wide and nation-wide impact polls have in the primary election. He dispelled some common myths about the New Hampshire primary and fielded our many questions, making him a wonderful resource for our individual research projects.
Our evening consisted of having dinner at Principia alum Pollyann Winslow’s house in Londonderry. We were also joined by Prin alums Lyssa Winslow and Brie Burns. A few guests joined us for dinner as well, sharing their experience in New Hampshire politics. Republican state senator Sharron Carson, Republican county and state party leader Wayne McDonald, Londonderry town clerk Sherry Farrell, and historic local farm owner Andy Mack all provided us with a much deeper and diverse understanding of how New Hampshire politics operate as a whole, both on the local and state levels. Much thanks to the Winslows and guests for supporting a great night for our group!
Tomorrow: Meeting with Tom Rath (senior advisor for multiple GOP candidates), the New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper, and attending a Tulsi Gabbard event!
