At the polls, a glimpse of the forces shaping the presidential race
As they trekked to polling places across the state Tuesday, New Hampshire voters embodied the range of cross-currents buffeting the country as it heads into a consequential election year.
Some arrived at the high school gymnasiums or community centers brimming with enthusiasm for former president Donald Trump, undeterred — or even spurred on — by the 91 criminal charges he faces. Others turned out in hopes of helping former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley pull off an upset, tired of the constant drama the former president leaves in his wake.
Democrats turned out, too, but their choice was more complicated. President Biden, wasn’t on the ballot, thanks to the Democratic National Committee’s decision to bump New Hampshire from its traditional first-in-the-nation primary spot in favor of more-diverse South Carolina. An effort emerged to convince voters to write in his name; others chose to send a message of their unhappiness with him.
Whether these voters were motivated with zeal for their preferred candidates, or held their noses to pick the “lesser of two evils” as one voter put it, their voices capture the deeply divided national mood, and provide insight on both how the next nine or so months will play out and the challenges both parties face in rallying voters to their side before November.
‘I had my mind focused’
Mark F. Walton, 60, wore a black hat with “Make America Great Again” embroidered in bright white letters as he and his wife, Gail A. Walton, 63, exited their Exeter polling place.
Registered Republicans both, they voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 — and happily did so again in Tuesday’s primary.
Trump did a good job in the White House, the couple said, so they want him in charge again.
“I want somebody that’s going to do what they say they’re going to do, not just tell me what I want to hear,” Gail Walton said.
She never gave much consideration to voting for anyone else, including Haley, she said.
“I really never thought much about her — and I don’t mean that in a bad way — I just, I had my mind focused, and that’s where it was going to be,” she said.
Mark Walton said immigration and border security are key policy issues on which he is eager for Trump’s leadership. “I don’t see nothing wrong with doing legal immigration, but all these men that are coming in that are of military age and stuff, young men, we don’t know who any of them are,” he said. “It’s like an invasion. There’s like thousands of them coming in every day. We don’t know who they are. We don’t know if they’re criminals or where they came from.” STEVEN PORTER
‘A step away from some significant negativity’
Joe Gorgol, an undeclared voter, voted for Haley at the Henniker Community School Tuesday. The 42-year-old military veteran and current defense contractor said the former South Carolina governor’s messaging resonated with him.
“It’s probably a good opportunity to get a little bit of change in the course of our country and to take a step away from some significant negativity,” Gorgol said.
He felt Haley would be very capable in addressing two of his top priorities as a voter: balancing the national budget and managing international relations and defense strategy, which is “near and dear to his heart.”
As an independent, he said he tries hard to remain open minded when evaluating candidates, and while he feels he more aligned with the Republican Party, he’s never considered voting for Trump.
“A bombastic, outspoken, ‘I’m always right’ personality doesn’t strike me as an effective political leader or an effective representation of either myself or should be an effective representative of America,” said Gorgol.
NIKI GRISWOLD
‘Between fascism and the future of America’
In Franklin, Stephanie Larrabee, 42, and Joseph Myrdek, 38, were undeterred by Biden’s decision to skip the first-in-thenation primary; both wrote in Biden’s name. It was an easy decision, as Myrdek put it, because his highest priority is to defeat Trump.
“It’s really black and white almost at this point between fascism and the future of America,” said Myrdek, who, like Larrabee, is a registered Democrat. “I’m not the biggest fan of what’s going on in Israel right now, but I’m willing to put that aside for the greater election, where we go forth from here. Trump literally said he would be a dictator,” he continued, referring to comments
Trump made in December saying he won’t be a dictator if he wins reelection, “other than [on] day one.”
Myrdek said he believes Haley would be a stronger general election opponent for Biden than Trump, given the former president’s legal woes, and because Haley, at 52, is younger. AMANDA GOKEE
‘Two old dudes . . . a nightmare’
Standing outside the Webster Elementary School in Manchester, Andrew Hershey, a 30year-old independent, said he voted for Haley, mostly because “I can’t vote for Trump.”
“I’m hoping she can give Trump a run for his money, make him sweat a little bit and see him get rid of a little of that spray tan,” the Manchester resident said.
Hershey said he voted for
Biden in 2020, and would do it again in November if it comes down to him versus Trump. But reliving that matchup inspires dread, not excitement. “We’ve got two old dudes, and don’t want to see them going back at it again. It was a nightmare,” Hershey said. MATT STOUT
‘Other people have chickened out’
Mark Kegel, 65, is a physician and a “Democrat through and through,” who said he voted for Dean Phillips, a Democratic congressman from Minnesota who is running in the Democratic primary. “I just think we need someone younger, more vibrant,” he said after voting in Concord.
“Other people have chickened out running against the president.” He said health care is one of the biggest issues to him, and he supports Phillips’s platform, which includes Medicare for All.
In Hampton, Katherine Harake stood alone amid a row of Biden supporters, holding a Phillips sign taped to a mop handle. Harake, a Democrat, said she supported Phillips because of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
“I feel like having allies is one thing, but unconditional support to the point of 25,000 people dead for me is not something I can accept as an American and as a Democrat,” she said.
Harake knows Phillips stands little chance of beating Biden in the primary, but as a proud New Hampshire resident, she plans to vote on her beliefs rather than out of fear, she said. AMANDA GOKEE, NATASHA LACHAC