The view from the campaign trail in New Hampshire
Widener University sponsored a trip for five political science and communication studies students and two faculty members to attend the New Hampshire presidential primary from Feb. 9 – 12. Two political science students, Jack Heavner and Cloë Di Flumeri, share their experiences.
We snapped a selfie with a Bernie Sanders. It was the highlight of our trip to New Hampshire, but also was just one small piece of a four-day adventure covering the presidential primary.
The trip was a chance to experience firsthand what we learn every day in our political science courses at Widener University. The experience left us inspired and far more politically engaged than we have ever been before.
On the ground in New
Hampshire, we saw several presidential candidates, including Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Michael Bennett, as well as President Donald J. Trump and Bill Weld.
Our press passes gave us front-row access with media from major news outlets at these campaign events. We listened to the candidates talk about their priorities and interviewed voters about which priorities resonated with them.
One of the most interesting aspects of the primary was that each campaign had a distinctive atmosphere and a unique audience.
The Democratic candidates all made it clear that this election is a referendum on Trump. However, we wondered “what would it take to unseat the president in November?” This question has been the central focus at rallies across the nation, and New Hampshire was certainly no exception.
As the most upbeat rally we attended, Sanders’ event at Franklin Pierce University captured the “revolution” of change that his base supports. His approach did not attempt to attract moderates or work across the aisle on legislation.
The moderates took an entirely different approach to outshine Trump in November. Both Klobuchar and Biden spoke extensively about their desire to restore the relationship between Democratic and Republican parties in Congress and in our communities.
While Biden spoke strongly about bridging connections, his rally at Alvirne High School had low energy and attracted an older and less racially diverse audience than Sanders, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of having a “fireside chat” with “Uncle Joe.”
Drawing a familyfriendly crowd to his rally, Buttigeig took a slightly less appeasing approach, expressing his unwillingness to compromise his agenda for the approval of other politicians. He said the American people are less divided than they may seem and argued that politicians purposefully drum up partisanship in order to push their agendas and bolster their followings.
Trump’s rally in Manchester drew similar energy to Sanders’ rally. The enormous crowd exceeded the number of ticket holders for the event, leaving hundreds of his supporters outside to watch him via a jumbotron. Notably, the Trump rally drew a middle-aged and older crowd of males and females, as well as an overwhelming group of young males.
After the polls closed on Nov. 11, we learned that New Hampshire voters had spoken in favor of Sanders. As expected, Trump achieved a landslide victory from Republican voters.
Our biggest takeaway from the New Hampshire primary was that every vote counts. After the 2016 presidential election, many people thought voting was declining and that people were fed up with democracy.
We saw in New Hampshire that voters do care and want to be part of the change. It was inspiring and helped us recognize the importance of our generation’s political engagement.
This trip prepared us for later this year when we will cast our own ballots here at home.