From Tom Brady to Tracy Chapman: New Hampshire voters had other ideas for president

Tom Brady for president? Or what about Tracy Chapman? Several New Hampshire residents recently voted to send offbeat icons to the White House.

But what, if anything, could it tell us about American voters in 2024?

While most Granite State primary voters threw their support behind President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump — the winners of their respective primaries — a handful backed a roster of rather unconventional figures, including athletes, artists and even a cat named Randy.

These unorthodox choices were written on ballots across the state during the Democratic and Republican primaries on Jan. 23, according to voting records from about a dozen towns.

“It is not unusual to have people write-in unusual names or notions in any election, but it is more common when people feel there is less at stake in an election (a primary where they believe the winners are already “set,” for example),” Tammy Vigil, a Boston University professor who researches political campaigns, told McClatchy News.

“In this case, the effort to encourage write-ins for Biden drew even more attention to the option to add any name into the mix,” Vigil said.

Strange names

In Nashua, one voter wrote in Jason Kelce, a center for the Philadelphia Eagles. Another wrote in Tom Brady, a former quarterback for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jon Stewart, the longtime host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, also garnered one vote in Nashua.

Even fictional characters received some support in the city — with one vote cast for Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse narrowly edging out his feathered companion with two.

“Mickey Mouse has garnered a lot of votes (over) the decades,” Andrew Smith, a politics professor at the University of New Hampshire, told McClatchy News.

The character, a symbol of American culture, has been collecting votes from voters since at least 1932, according to The American Prospect.

In Durham, Tracy Chapman, singer of the hit single “Fast Car,” received one vote, while rapper Kanye West garnered another. One vote was even cast for “Randy Hardware store cat.”

Additionally, movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson picked up a single vote in Hudson, and Seth MacFarlane, creator of “Family Guy,” got a vote in Weare.

One of the strangest write-ins came from Conway, where a voter, perhaps a car aficionado, simply wrote “Subaru.”

More conventional names were also put forward by a sliver of New Hampshire voters, including former First Lady Michelle Obama and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Additionally, a number of voters wrote “cease-fire” in an attempt to draw attention to Israel’s war in Gaza.

Why are they cast?

These unusual write-in votes — destined to fail — raise interesting questions about the electorate, Vigil said.

“Clearly the individuals took the time to complete their civic duty,” Vigil said. “But they did so in a fashion that would negate their elective power yet give them a different type of voice.”

Some write-in choices are undoubtedly protest votes, Andrew Smith, a politics professor at the University of New Hampshire, told McClatchy News. Others simply arise from confusion about the voting process.

“A person got to the polls thinking they were eligible to vote in a primary that they were not able to because of registration,” Smith said.

People often believe they’re registered as “undeclared,” but when they get to their voting station, they realize they’re actually registered as Democrats or Republicans, and by state law, can only vote in their party’s nominating contest.

“I like the funky write-ins,” Vigil said. “They create an unusual record of pop culture icons as we seen the names inserted change over time.”

“Whether a protest against the system or current candidates or an homage for a beloved public figure,” Vigil said, “the unusual write in has the potential to start a conversation about leadership that can be rather important.”

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