Tulsi’s ground game in New Hampshire

December 7, 2019

Tulsi has rented a house in New Hampshire. She will be living and campaigning there through the New Hampshire Democratic primary on Tuesday, February 11, 2020. She is conducting town halls throughout the state and introducing herself personally to people there. It’s the classic way of political campaigning.

Gabbard has taken another really old-fashioned strategy, putting up yard signs wherever possible and buying out every billboard in the state. I don’t think she has anywhere near the organizational strength of other candidates, but just that visibility is important.

— Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire’s survey center

If you drive through New Hampshire, in the two most populated counties, you see terrific visibility for both (Yang and Gabbard). The Gabbard signs are everywhere. It does show a level of enthusiasm that I think is disproportionate to Iowa and Nevada.

— David Paleologos, director of Suffolk University’s political research center

At least four things work in Tulsi’s favor in New Hampshire.First, New Hampshire is the first Democratic primary, so if she does well there then her campaign will immediately attract national and international exposure. That means more money and more interviews on TV and radio. Of course, it will also mean more attacks on her, attempted smears.

The second thing in Tulsi’s favor in New Hampshire is that the state is the fifth smallest in the country. The state has only 13 cities—the largest of which are Manchester, with a population of just under 110,000 people, and Nashua, with about 86,500. The state has only 221 towns—most with populations of under 10,000. So Tulsi should be able visit many cities and towns there and shake a lot of hands. Which leads me to the third thing…

Tulsi is young and in great physical shape. She has tons of energy, so walking a lot outside in the cold weather shouldn’t be any problem. She’s also a good and engaging speaker. She’s not boring. She has charisma. She’s huggable. And yes, it doesn’t hurt that she’s an attractive woman. Plus, she’s a new commodity, which tends to raise people’s curiosity. Which leads me to the fourth thing…

In a Dec. 7 article in Newsweek, Andrew Smith noted, “There’s an old saying about New Hampshire politics, which is that Republicans fall in line and they elect the candidate they think is supposed to win the nomination, whereas Democrats like to fall in love. And you fall in love with a new person.”

Need I say more?

Categories: US Politics

Tagged: Marco Cáceres, Tulsi Gabbard