Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
In N.H., Arkansan on Democrat ballot gathers up 32 votes
Four years after knocking on doors for Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, Fort Smith attorney Mosemarie Dora “Mosie” Boyd returned to the Granite State, this time promoting her own White House bid.
The Arkansan was one of 33 Democrats appearing on Tuesday’s New Hampshire presidential primary ballot.
On Monday, she began in Franklin, population 8,477, trudging through light snow that transitioned, as the sun climbed, to gentle rain.
She planned to drive south, later in the day, to Manchester, population 112,525.
“People are very receptive to visiting with presidential candidates,” Boyd said in a telephone interview. “I think it has to do with the nature of this race, which is still so fluid and undecided.”
Boyd, 50, drove herself from Arkansas to New Hampshire late last month, pausing in Washington, D.C., to watch part of the impeachment trial.
For the past two weeks, she’s been making her case.
Diners are a good spot to find people, she noted.
“My message to New Hampshire voters is that I’m running for president to rebuild patriotism by uniting Americans around our shared values,” she said. “I believe we have too much noise at the extremes of both parties and we need to … come back to the middle and focus on serving the American people.”
Asked whether she’s to the left or the right of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Boyd said, “I consider myself much more in the middle of the road than any of the leading candidates in the Democratic primary at this point.”
Hers is a low-budget campaign.
She reported net contributions of $14,238.29 on her year-end Federal Election Commission campaign-finance report. As of Dec. 31, her campaign account contained $950.69.
Much of the money has been spent on yard signs and filing fees.
It only costs $1,000 to appear on the New Hampshire primary ballot. She spent another $2,500 securing a spot in Arkansas.
Boyd also qualified for the Golden State’s March 3 primary.
“California was free because I was recognized as a well-known presidential candidate, believe it or not,” she said.
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla determined that Boyd was a “generally advocated for or recognized” presidential candidate — and thus entitled to appear on the ballot — after she qualified in New Hampshire.
A former California resident, Boyd may be best known there for challenging incumbent Gov. Gray Davis in the state’s 2002 gubernatorial primary.
She finished fourth in a four-way race, capturing 95,857 votes — or 4.4% of the total votes cast.
After her defeat, she founded her own political action committee, “Madam President,” which “promotes awareness about the many women who have run for U.S. president since 1870,” its website states.
She also moved to Arkansas, eventually earning a juris doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s William H. Bowen School of Law.
Four years ago, she went door to door in New Hampshire, urging voters to back the former secretary of state, U.S. senator and first lady.
In 2018, Boyd ran, unsuccessfully, for Sebastian County judge.
Fellow activist Sherry Toliver of Fort Smith portrays Boyd as a dynamo who is committed to electing women.
“She’s really a go-getter and she has been active in politics all her life,” Toliver said. “I ran for city director in 2014 and she helped me. I bet she knocked on a thousand doors.”
Toliver didn’t win, but fared well enough to feel good about the effort.
“I got about 7,000 votes,” she said.
On Jan. 28, Boyd appeared at the Lesser Known Candidates Forum, a quadrennial event organized by the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College in Manchester.
Boyd has tasted defeat before and is poised — pollsters say — to lose again.
With Election Day looming, poorly funded and lightly publicized, Boyd has been realistic about her chances. The bar she has set for success is low.
She collected 32 votes in the New Hampshire primary, which Sanders won. Next stop: Super Tuesday on March 3.
No matter the tally, she says she enjoys retail politics.
“I love it. I love campaigning for president. It is definitely my calling,” she said.