CONCORD, N.H. — For Scott Cathy, the move from Churchville-Chili to New Hampshire has one big consolation: Primary week.
“It’s what I enjoy about living in New Hampshire. Regardless of your political beliefs, you get everything,” Cathy said in a telephone interview from his home in Plymouth. “Doesn’t matter your political persuasion–red state, blue state, liberal, conservative, libertarian—you can get it all here in New Hampshire and it always comes back.”
Cathy is one of scores of former Rochesterians now living in the Granite State. He moved to Plymouth from Vermont in 1989, and now runs his own businesss, Ampac Security Products.
This year, the primary is on Jan. 8. The five days leading up to the balloting is a circus of American politics. Candidates arrive typically after the Iowa caucus, visiting high schools and town halls to garner support from N.H. locals. Volunteers from across the country travel to work at campaign headquarters in key cities. Downtown Concord’s Main Street is decorated with advertisements on nearly every corner as bold displays of candidacy.
For Melissa Speer, who moved to Amherst, N.H., from Brockport in February 2004, this is her first primary experience. She described the weeks leading up to the primary as “absolutely crazy.”
“Most of what we’ve gotten is bombarded with phone calls, from Democrats, Republicans, everything,” Speer said. “Probably a couple a day.” The calls are usually 10- minute surveys asking residents about their political stance and who they plan on casting their vote for, she said.
But she doubts the outcome of the heavy advertisement. “I don’t know how much it helps. I think most people make up their minds pretty early on,” she said.
Speer predicts that the pace of campaigning for candidates will heat up dramatically in the next couple of days. “It’ll be interesting to see after the Iowa caucus if they start pouring it on, especially the ones who didn’t do well might bombard us even more.”
For Cathy, formerly from Churchville-Chili and now of Plymouth, primary week is a grand occasion. He is a self-described “political junkie,” and takes full advantage of where he lives to experience all primary week has to offer. “It’s been said that you can’t win a primary in New Hampshire without going through Plymouth.”
For example, he was at a John McCain house party on New Year’s Day. About 50 people had the opportunity to have a conversation with the Republican candidate. New Hampshire residents take the primaries seriously, he said.
“They would ask a question. He would respond and they would have a follow-up. You can’t do that anywhere else,” he said.
Cathy became a McCain supporter after seeing him speak at a veteran’s home in New Hampshire while McCain was campaigning for the 2000 election. To Cathy, it was a life-changing event.
“When he started talking to the group, at first it was a fraternity of war heroes, but then it became about America, what America stands for and what it is and where it’s going. These old war heroes came back to life,” he said.
Throughout his years of following the primary action, Cathy said, he’s always been struck by how charismatic candidates are. That’s evident at the small gatherings and events the candidates attend in the area, he said.
“John Edwards is a guy like that, very charismatic. Saw him in 2004, knew right then this guy’s gonna do well,” Cathy said. “He came from out of the blue. It was easy for me to see why, when I went to one of his sessions.”
And even if he doesn’t agree with everything the candidates says, they can still get his vote through their character. He cites as an example John McCain.
“When he talks, I believe him. Even if I disagree with him I believe this is what he thinks is what’s best for the country,” he said. “To me it’s about character. He believes in what he says.”
(Melissa Daniels, a sophomore newspaper and music history major, is covering the New Hampshire primary for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.)
-30-
