No ID required: Out-of-staters flock to meet the candidates

Jan. 20—Elizabeth Carter drove 190 miles from her home in Vermont, stayed overnight at a hotel and then stood in line in a raging snowstorm for more than 4 1/2 hours to see former President Donald Trump.

"Call me crazy," said Carter, who wore a "Trump 2024" camo cap, black winter boots and a matching coat.

Trump's event in Atkinson in the closing days before the nation's leadoff primary wasn't her first live glimpse of the country's 45th president.

"It's about my 10th time," said Carter, retired from her job at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, "because he's so handsome," is a leader and will be the nation's 47th president in January.

Come Tuesday, untold numbers of people who have come to the Granite State over the past few months to see the presidential candidates here won't get to vote, but they will head home with memories, a campaign sign and perhaps a selfie with their favorite candidate.

"I can tell how voters here know how blessed they are to have the primary because they clearly don't mind sharing it with people who come here to experience it," GOP candidate Nikki Haley said during a roundtable discussion earlier this month at the Union Leader.

"All I would add is: Don't take it for granted. It's a very cool thing," said the former United Nations ambassador.

The climb to the top

Six days before the primary, George Roberts arrived at a Hampton Beach bar on a weekday afternoon to see Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — a trip 20 years in the making.

Back in early 2004, the Virginia resident came to New Hampshire to climb Mount Washington but didn't have time to catch any campaign events.

"I had it in my mind ever since then," Roberts said at Wally's, a bar a block from the Atlantic Ocean.

He and Suz Frost, a co-worker in Virginia state government, had driven 11 hours from Virginia the day before in a snowstorm that caused them to miss their first campaign stop in the North Country.

"I like adventure, I like politics, and I like the challenge of climbing Mount Washington," Frost said days before the pair planned to scale New England's highest peak.

"I'll probably do it once in my life," Frost said.

People come to New Hampshire because their odds of seeing the candidates are better here. By the time their home states hold primaries, candidates may have dropped out, and those who are left are spread too thin to visit all of the more than a dozen states voting on Super Tuesday on March 5. That includes Massachusetts, Vermont and Virginia.

No one at the state level in New Hampshire tallies how many people travel here for a few hours or several days for the primary, according to Kris Neilsen, communications manager at the state Division of Travel and Tourism Development.

"Unfortunately, as there hasn't been an economic impact study done on the NH Primary, our office doesn't have specific data in terms of the economic benefits it brings to the state," she said in an email. "We also do not have data that would support detailing which states people come from to see the candidates."

Interviews this month at events held by four Republican candidates reveal that out-of-staters arrive with either curiosity about the presidential race or enthusiastic support for a specific candidate.

Testing the candidates

Jim Connell from Westford, Mass., got a good spot in the Saddle Up Saloon to watch Haley in Kingston.

"I go to as many as I'm able to," said Connell, 70, who's retired from his job helping companies understand and manage their data.

Connell, who typically sees three or four candidates each primary, had several on his list still to see this month.

"I want to see the candidates react in real time to a variety of questions they're asked," he said.

After Connell saw the late Sen. John McCain in person during previous primaries, the candidate won his vote.

"Certainly, John McCain impressed me with his interaction with people in the room," he said. "He wasn't afraid of taking questions."

At the same Kingston event was Ann Murphy, 69, of Merrimac, Mass., a retired teacher and assistant director at a senior center. She saw her first presidential candidate ever last fall when she went to Londonderry to see Haley.

Murphy voted for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Trump in 2020.

"I love Trump, but he can't do it this time," Murphy said. "Too much — what do they call it? — chaos."

Tourists welcome

Political tourists have been traveling to the Granite State for decades.

"For political junkies, people have come from all over the place," said former GOP state party chair Wayne MacDonald, most recently New Hampshire campaign co-chair for former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who suspended his presidential campaign earlier this month.

"Meeting them one-on-one is what is so special about New Hampshire," MacDonald said.

In 2000, the Union Leader talked to a father and son from Alaska who spent a week in New Hampshire, where they saw practically every major candidate.

Twelve years later, three guys from Baltimore came here with a plan to see five major Republican presidential candidates in about 48 hours.

Last week, Saint Anselm College student Diego Infante went to see Trump at the Atkinson Country Club with his family from Marlborough, Mass., who drove an hour and a half and took turns waiting in line and in a warm vehicle for another four hours to get inside.

"I feel a lot of energy of his base," said Infante, who was attending his third Trump event.

The first-year finance major, who said he valued the ability "to interact with the candidate," had a conversation with candidate Vivek Ramaswamy before he dropped out of the presidential race.

Also in that crowd was Louise Hamilton, 57, who donned a pink hat with an affixed sign: "I'm still a Trump girl."

Hamilton, who works in a restaurant, said she came from Massachusetts to see Trump because "Massachusetts is never going to invite him."

'You never know'

Other Bay State residents were at Haley's event in Kingston.

"We'll support whoever will defeat Trump," said Matt Sparrow of Hopkinton, Mass. "If Christie was leading, we'd be supporting him."

Joe Fisichelli and life partner Christine Maxim were lucky to find seats at the Kingston stop.

"This is the first time I've been to any of these events," said Fisichelli, who drove about a half-hour from Salisbury, Mass., and hoped to get a selfie with the candidate.

"You never know. She can be president and I got a picture with the president," he said.

Haley frequently concludes events with a reception line, giving people a chance to shake her hand and take photos.

"When I go through the line, so many will tell me where they are from outside New Hampshire and how far they have come to see me," Haley said.

Learning about government

Fourteen students and three teachers from the Hollis Montessori School packed into a couple of large booths in the 1950s-style MaryAnn's Diner in Amherst to see Christie earlier this month. During the primary, students met four presidential candidates and just missed out on Ramaswamy, who quit the race before a planned student visit last week.

"This opportunity is real special and unique," said student Tony Silvestro, 14. "We need to embrace the opportunity rather than ignore it."

Andrew Jeans, their teacher or "upper school guide," said the seventh and eighth graders analyzed campaign commercials and flyers. They also learned about listening to opposing views and "respectfully expressing" their own.

"The better the understanding they have of how government operates, the better citizens they'll be as they grow older and can more meaningfully participate in government," Jeans said later.

Some of his students will be old enough to vote in the 2028 primary.

At the event with the students, Christie said voters should not to wait too long to select a candidate.

"If you're looking for the perfect candidate, believe me, you're going to be looking forever," Christie said. "The only person you agree with 100% of the time is you."

Twelve days later, Edgar Topping, who said the "last election was fixed," snagged a front-row seat for the DeSantis stop in Hampton Beach, torn between voting for Trump or DeSantis.

"I want both," said Topping, 55, who was out of work because of a back injury. "I would love for both of them to work together."

But at the polls on Tuesday, the limit is one candidate per voter. And only Granite Staters are welcome.

mcousineau@unionleader.com