The Hampshire Thing

Few things about the media are more disturbing that the breathless, blow by blow coverage of election races. But as Mark Leibovich explains, New Hampshire feels less like another stop on the campaign primary trail and more like the end of the road for any hope of a ballot that doesn’t include Donald Trump. The Atlantic (Gift Article): First in the Nation—And Last? “Donald Trump shares an essential trait with the voters of New Hampshire: a craving for flattery and affirmation. Residents here are accustomed to parades of candidates trekking up every four years to tell them how sacred their first-in-the-nation primary is, how discerning their famously ‘independent’ and ‘contrarian’ voters are. Politicians strain endlessly to convey how vital New Hampshire is to the process. But things feel precarious and a bit upside down here these days—more final whimper than first salvo.” (I was worried I was the only one who whimpered during election season.)

+ My favorite takeaway from this campaign stop is that many New Hampshire Trump supporters named the border as a key issue. Uh…