Well, despite a study revealing that most New Hampshire primary voters do not meet the candidates in person, the fact is they could if they wanted to. There is hardly a citizen here without a friend or neighbor who hosted a coffee klatch for a candidate. More important, the folks in those other states might not be up to the job. Its 400-member house of representatives provides a representative for every 2,200 adult citizens. People here are accustomed to just walking up to their elected representatives and speaking their mind, the way they do in town meeting.
Presidential candidates are no different.
This seems unpropitious for a nonwhite candidate. This could change. The state supreme court declared the old school-financing system unconstitutional, and Democratic Governor Jeanne Shaheen got the legislature to pass a statewide property tax. But it may not survive. Finally there is the Union-Leader , which is neither as powerful nor as outrageous as when William Loeb ran it.