New Hampshire voters take to polls in 1st-in-nation primary

Author: The Associated Press
Published: Updated:
MGN

New Hampshire hosts the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, featuring candidates for the Republican and Democratic nomination. Of the state’s 1.33 million residents, more than 870,000 residents are registered to vote. Polls started opening at 7 a.m., except for a handful of communities that begin voting just after midnight. In Dixville Notch, voters in that tiny town gave Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich two votes, Republican Donald Trump got two and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders won four votes for his Democratic bid.

Here are snapshots of voters who went to the polls Tuesday:

___

Tracy Carl, 38, of Merrimack, voted for Trump after weighing between him and Sanders.

“I found him to be the most appealing and the most likely to win,” Carl, an unaffiliated voter who tends to vote Republican, said of Trump. “Also, I don’t want Hillary.”

The owner of a child care center, she said being a small-business owner was a factor in considering the two candidates.

“I think they’re more for small business than the other candidates,” Carl said, stressing she hasn’t yet decided how she’ll vote in the general election. “It’s time for America to see itself as a business.”

Kathleen Bowles, 60, of Merrimack, who voted with Carl on Tuesday, said she also cast her ballot for Trump largely because of his success in the business world.

“I went with him because I feel like we need a change from the political arena to the business part of America,” said the cafeteria worker, who is also unaffiliated but tends to vote Republican.

Going forward, Bowles said, she’d be watching to see if Trump starts to “calm down” his rhetoric.

“It was a tough call,” she said. “I’m still really undecided right now.”

___

Jack Wimme, 56, of Merrimack, said he picked Kasich after also considering New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

“I think he best represents my views, which are a little bit more moderate,” said Wimme, who is unaffiliated but voted Republican in the past two presidential elections.

“It was a coin toss, to a certain extent. They’re both governors, and they have that experience. But I just felt Kasich best represents where I stand. Plus, I met him. That helps.”

___

Greg St. Laurent, a 68-year-old computer engineer who lives in Manchester and works over the border for a small Massachusetts firm, cast his ballot for Kasich in the GOP primary.

“I think the bulk of the country is indicating its displeasure with the establishment. So, I think it’s important that everyone comes out to vote in the primary to indicate whatever pleasure or displeasure they have,” he said.

“The division between the parties is greater than it has been. Being a kid, I remember people a lot more united behind a particular candidate.”

___

Mary O’Malley, 84, a retired chiropractor from Manchester, voted for Trump.

“He’s his own man. He’s not part of the establishment. He’s going to get things done, and he’s not going to put up with any baloney.”

O’Malley used to be a Democrat – she voted for Bill Clinton in the 1990s and thought he was a good president – but became an independent a few years ago in part because she was turned off by President Barack Obama. She voted for Republicans Sen. John McCain in 2008 and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in 2012.

When Trump first began campaigning, she said: “There’s a guy who knows what he’s doing. He wouldn’t be a billionaire if he wasn’t smart enough.”

___

Tom Olson, a 35-year-old unemployed software engineer from Manchester, voted for Sanders.

“It was a difficult decision,” he said, adding that he weighed factors of electability with Hillary Clinton’s trustworthiness and Sanders’ plans to move the country further left. “I decided to vote for Bernie Sanders. I feel like he would make a better president.”

“It would be nice to see someone willing to swing for the fences,” Olson said.

Olson voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012 and thought he’s been a good president. “Given the mountain of trouble he inherited, he’s done really well for himself.”

___

Maureen Egan, a professional voiceover talent from Manchester, was once involved in politics, working as a New Hampshire press secretary of former North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a Republican.

She voted for Carly Fiorina, calling her “an outsider without an attitude.”

She had been supporting Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul until he dropped out and was lukewarm about much of the rest of the field. But she went with Fiorina, feeling she had the business experience, competence and fortitude to be a good president. “She was very thoughtful. She was articulate without being a bully.”

Egan said she could not support Trump. “The whole thing has been surreal. I expected Ashton Kutcher to jump out and say, ‘You’ve been punk’d, New Hampshire!'”

She thought former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was “too weak.” And the rest of the field didn’t have the experience to be president.

___

Cait McKay, 29, of Manchester, voted for Sanders over Clinton. McKay works as a supervisor at a residential care facility for children with special needs.

“The biggest issue that I hear from everyone is the economy, the economy, the economy, the economy,” McKay said. “But, those aren’t the biggest issues to me. I am more interested in gender equality, in equal pay and equality for everyone in health care – in just building a better society for everyone. Other countries all over the world have it so why is it so crazy to think that we can have it, too?”

“I really find it odd that one side is scrabbling so hard against each other to find one person that they’re all supposed to support. I mean, how is everyone going to pick someone so specific if they can’t even get along with each other inside their party? That’s one of the reasons that I really like Bernie. He’s not taking the negative ads or the negative stabs at everyone.”

___

Merton Grant, 87, and his wife, Phyllis, 80, say they voted for Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz because he’s a born-again Christian like them.

“It was a tough choice. There were a lot of candidates, but we had to agree. Otherwise, why cancel each other’s votes?” said Merton Grant, a retired real estate agent.

The Nashua couple, lifelong Republicans married for 58 years, said they paid close attention to the debates but met just one candidate face-to-face: Ben Carson, who attended Sunday services at their church this past weekend. “Nice guy. Not sure he has a chance, though,” said Merton Grant.

Phyllis Grant, a retired nurse, said the two were ultimately swayed by the way Cruz handled himself in debates.

___

Cody Langis, 23, an unaffiliated voter who works in sales, voted for Obama in 2008 but skipped the primary in 2012. This time, the Concord resident voted for Trump.

“I believe he’s probably the best candidate to protect the constitution. I was a little undecided going into it. I thought Bernie has a lot of great ideas to protect the economy,” Langis said. “I’m very against gun control. I don’t believe that stripping citizens of arms is going to do anything for this country at all.”

“I’m hoping that Trump ends up not being as crazy as he’s coming off in the moment.”

___

Not everyone votes in New Hampshire, despite its prominence in the presidential primary season.

Richard Kipphut, 61, moved to New Hampshire in 2006 from his native Connecticut. He has yet to take advantage of voting in the first-in-the-nation primary.

A librarian at Plymouth State University, Kipphut says it’s just too early to cast a vote and he doesn’t like to have to declare for one of the major parties to vote in the primary.

Kipphut is an unaffiliated voter, and he usually votes for Democratic candidates – though he says he voted for Republican Richard Nixon in his first presidential election.

“I know you’re supposed to say every vote matters. I don’t think it’s going to matter much, at least not for me,” he said.

He plans to vote in the general election.

___

John Starer, 72, of Bedford, a Republican who owns a company that makes glue sticks, voted for Cruz.

“I think he’s about the only one who could possibly get elected as a Republican. I’d like to think Trump had a chance, but no,” he said.

He said Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, also vying for the GOP nomination, lacks the experience to be president. “Maybe next time around.”

Starer said he made up his mind about five minutes before he voted after narrowing down his choice to Trump or Cruz.

“The most important thing is to get back to our original values. We have to have someone who can put a coalition together, someone who’s closer to a Reagan Republican.”

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.