ABC reports surge of moderate, indy voters

By Tom Brennan ABC news and other media outlets are reporting heavy turnout in the Granite State’s “meaningless” presidential primary. This fuels hope that the polls are off, and that moderate and voters without a declared party preference are flocking to the polls to head off Trump II. The models currently used to poll the NH electorate already establish that the NH electorate is very different from I Iowa.  The polls were correct in Iowa, except for overstating Haley’s strength […]

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NH Primary Homestretch: Trump pulling away? Phillips mini surge? Farewell tour?

The conventional wisdom is that the New Hampshire presidential primary — a 100 year old home grown tradition that has moved history and forced the country to take a second look at seemingly settled questions — is poised to grumpily ratify a choice nobody really likes, and undermine it’s long standing claim empower thoughtful grass roots politics, putting it’s FITN status in further peril. Swiftly moving events of the past week, as our hard copy special edition went to press, […]

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Shhhh, Phillips & Williamson are running for president in the NH Dem primary, but keep it to yourself

By Mike Billings Two candidates, one quite traditional and one not, are running long shot campaigns for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination. Some of the dynamics are familiar to Granite Staters. The incumbent president is perceived as vulnerable, but commands great power, and is heavily favored. The president assumes a posture of distance from his primary campaign, to the point where the incumbent president’s name is not even on the ballot. There are status quo centered efforts to minimize the […]

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The Bolduc Primary?

As the Thursday prior to the primary, after Iowa, the two most recent polls give Trump a 14 point lead over Haley. Who turns out, and the role of  “undeclared” voters seems key.  Haley received a big lift when she won what we called The Sununu Primary. This was the coveted endorsement of the Granite State’s affable, anti-Trump GOP governor. But does it matter/ Voters here are famously contrarian. They may like Sununu fine, but may not listen to him […]

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Will Haley’s Comet fade in South Carolina?

By Lynn Levesque Nikki Haley is having her moment.  New Hampshire is her big play. She appeared to surge past Ron DeSantis in Iowa late last week, but Ron had bet all on Iowa, and Haley under performed in upscale Iowa counties, allowing DeSantis to edge her out for second place, in a caucus dominated by The Donald.  At least Iowa counted their votes on time for a change. Haley rolled into the Granite State with polls still showing her […]

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Sununu endorses Haley, as GSO predicted

Late breaking news!  At a town meeting in Manchester last night, Governor Sununu endorsed Nikki Haley for president. This was predicted here at the Granite State Observer a month ago, in an analysis of what we called The Sununu Primary. The popular and affable Governor is a staunch conservative and GOP partisan.  His Happy Warrior style offers sharp contrast with his father, the first Governor Sununu, best known more for not suffering fools gladly. The upbeat approach also contrasts with […]

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The Sununu Primary! Who will make the cut?

By Tom Brennan Governor Chris Sununu  finds himself in an unlikely position this autumn. Everyone is waiting to hear who he supports for president. He was even a hot presidential prospect himself, until he took himself out of consideration.  He was  only 14 when his father, also Governor of New Hampshire, rescued the faltering presidential campaign of George HW Bush and parlayed that into a leap from the Governor’s office in Concord to White House chief of staff (COS).  Another NH […]

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Vermin Supreme almost nabs Trump, who remains at large

By Tom Brennan They always return to the scene of the crime. Donald Trump was back in New Hampshire this weekend, displaying his increasing affinity for Hitlerian rhetoric. He referred to some of his fellow Americans as “vermin,” which needed to be rooted out. Europe in the 1930s had occasion to be familiar with this kind of language. If the USA in the 2020s has grown bored with these antics from the Orange Menace, one Granite Stater has reason to […]

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