CONCORD, N.H. – For 60 years, New Hampshire has jealously guarded the right to hold the earliest presidential primary, fending off bigger states that claimed that the small New England state was too white to represent the nation’s diverse population.
In its defense, New Hampshire jokingly brags that its voters won’t pick a presidential candidate until they’ve met at least three times face-to-face — rather than seeing the person in television ads or at large events typical of bigger states. New Hampshire voters expect to shake hands with candidates at coffees that supporters host in their homes or at backyard barbecues.
That tradition paid off in 1976 for a little-known peanut farmer and former Georgia governor. Jimmy Carter won in New Hampshire and went on to become president.
New Hampshire established its primary in 1916 to pick delegates to the national nominating conventions, but no candidates came to campaign. That all changed in 1952, when the primary became a launching pad for candidates seeking the White House.
For years, no one who lost a New Hampshire primary won the presidency — until Bill Clinton lost in 1992. George W. Bush lost in 2000 and Barack Obama lost in 2008.
Sometimes a New Hampshire loser can
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