MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – Donald Trump upended the traditions of New Hampshire campaigning when he opted for mega-rallies over living room conversations and diner stops, spending less time in the first primary state than any of his rivals. Yet the businessman goes into the state’s Tuesday primary with the hope of clinching his first win.
The trio of governors vying for second place – Ohio Gov. John Kasich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush – campaigned with a more personal touch. They’re betting that a near-constant presence and a one-handshake-at-a-time approach is what really matters in 2016, as it has in this state many times before.
In between are Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, two candidates running a multi-state strategy that’s meant fewer and briefer stops through the first primary state, albeit trips that include a traditional grassroots flavor.
The results on Tuesday night will be a test of sorts over which approach works in today’s political landscape, with some candidates offering dire warnings that a strong showing for those who have rejected New Hampshire’s tradition of campaign trail intimacy could harm the state’s first-in-the-nation status.
“If you reward those folks who don’t show up here, there is no reason for New Hampshire to be first,” Christie told voters Friday morning in Durham, urging them to cast aside Trump, Cruz and Rubio.