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Stage set for chaos as New Hampshire primary looms

In this Thursday Jan. 28, 2016, photo, Bruce McCracken, a retired school teacher poses at his home, in Wolfeboro, N.H. McCracken is an undecided Independent voter who hopes to meet and shake hands with every presidential candidate before he votes in the nation's first presidential primary on Feb. 9. The New Hampshire primary is anyone’s race as several Republican presidential candidates vie for a top tier finish less than two weeks before voters head to the polls. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
In this Thursday Jan. 28, 2016, photo, Bruce McCracken, a retired school teacher poses at his home, in Wolfeboro, N.H. McCracken is an undecided Independent voter who hopes to meet and shake hands with every presidential candidate before he votes in the nation's first presidential primary on Feb. 9. The New Hampshire primary is anyone’s race as several Republican presidential candidates vie for a top tier finish less than two weeks before voters head to the polls. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) In this Thursday Jan. 28, 2016, photo, Bruce McCracken, a retired school teacher poses at his home, in Wolfeboro, N.H. McCracken is an undecided Independent voter who hopes to meet and shake hands with every presidential candidate before he votes in the nation's first presidential primary on Feb. 9. The New Hampshire primary is anyone’s race as several Republican presidential candidates vie for a top tier finish less than two weeks before voters head to the polls. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

By Associated Press 4 min read

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Uncertainties are mounting in New Hampshire as Republican presidential candidates fail to sway the state’s many fence-sitters one way or the other, despite months of outreach by the various campaigns.

More than 40 percent are not registered with any political party, giving them the power to choose which party they’d like to vote with come Feb. 9.

Seeking to emerge as the establishment contender against billionaire Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, four of those candidates – John Kasich, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush – are scrambling to find anything that will set them apart. With Trump maintaining a commanding lead in the state, the battle has intensified among the rest of the pack as they look to elbow each other out for a second-place finish.

“What the hell is taking so long with you people?” New Jersey Gov. Christie half-joked at a town hall in Portsmouth last week. “I mean, c’mon now!”

Kasich, Ohio’s sitting governor, is the latest to claim momentum in the rollercoaster race, pointing to endorsements from several major New Hampshire newspapers and an uptick in preference polls. Once an afterthought, most polls show Kasich is among the candidates vying for second place.