Candidates strip labels for N.H. voters
MANCHESTER, N. H. Amid an increasingly combative 2016 campaign, Republican and Democratic presidential candidates preached bipartisanship Monday in the nation’s first primary state. The goal: Woo the largely undeclared voters at the No Labels convention, a group that emphasizes cooperation and pragmatism in government.
Even GOP front-runner Donald Trump, whose candidacy hasn’t exactly been defined by its conciliatory approach to rivals, tried to highlight his willingness to cooperate. “When I was a businessman, I got along with every- body,” Trump said before the event. Then he told voters, “I like the word ‘ compromise.’ We need compromise. … But it’s always good to compromise and win.”
Trump received a tough reception from more than a thousand undecided New Hampshire voters, perhaps best illustrated an hour after his appearance. One woman’s plea to reporters — “Please don’t make today about Donald Trump” — received one of the biggest ovations of the day.
Trump still tops polls here, although his lead has slipped.
Roberta Paine of Keene, N.H., said she’s looking for candidates who are honest, straight-talking, civil and reasonable. “The idea that people can’t work together is absurd,” Paine said. She’s regis- tered as an undeclared voter but usually votes in the GOP primary.
Former New York governor George Pataki, a long-shot GOP candidate, asked former senator Evan Bayh, an Indiana Democrat, to join him on stage for a question-and-answer session about climate change.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who seeks the Democratic nomination, exhorted the crowd via a video feed: “Let’s treat each other respectfully, and let’s not try to demonize people who disagree with us.”