New Hampshire

Huckabee concedes New Hampshire

Filed under: New Hampshire

With 30 percent of precincts reporting, trailing John McCain (38%) and Mitt Romney (29%), Mike Huckabee (12%) conceded New Hampshire at a little past 8 p.m. tonight. But it sounded more like a victory speech.

Huckabee said he was thankful that an "unknown Southern boy" could do so well up north and said that when he comes back to New Hampshire as the Republican nominee, "I'll even learn how to say 'chow-da.'"

Strangely absent from the proceedings was Chuck Norris, who is apparently a fairweather friend.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at January 8, 2008 8:11 PM | Comments (0)

 

Number Crunching: Just how important is the New Hampshire Primary?

Filed under: New Hampshire

Back in 2000 (ah, those halcyon, pre-9/11 days!), you might recall a straight-shootin’, seemingly invincible John McCain carried New Hampshire only to lose momentum—and ultimately the nomination—to our current president, thanks to a doughy strategist named Karl Rove. (Rove, of course, mounted an ingenious smear campaign in South Carolina that insinuated McCain had not only fathered an illegitimate black child, but was, in fact, pro-breast cancer.)

So: just how significant is the New Hampshire primary in the nomination process? Answer: fairly.

Of the 28 U.S. presidential nominees since 1952—the year N.H. first gained distinction as an early make-or-break primary—22 won the Granite State and five finished second. Adlai Stevenson is the only candidate to have secured his party’s nomination after a less than second-place showing in New Hampshire (1952) .

Which is bad news for Mike Huckabee. As of 5:30 p.m., the Iowa victor appeared to be battling Ron Paul and Rudy Giuliani for a distant third, trailing Mitt Romney and front-runner McCain.

Somewhere, Chuck Norris is roundhouse-kicking his television.

Posted by Matt Snyders at January 8, 2008 5:56 PM | Comments (0)

 

Vote Minnesotan

Filed under: New Hampshire

As pointed out on MNSpeak, there are a couple of presidential aspirants with Minnesota connections on the New Hampshire primary ballot. Ole Savior, a Minneapolis resident and perennial candidate for pretty much any office available, is representing for the Democrats. Meanwhile Granite State Republicans have the option of voting for fugitive dentist and former St. Paul-resident Jack Shepard. Of course it's unlikely the latter stands a chance against the likes of Vermin Supreme.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 8, 2008 1:40 PM | Comments (0)