Welcome

Over the next eight weeks, I plan to see all 24 Democratic candidates for president in person on the campaign trail in New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire primary is the first in the nation and its results have changed the course of American political history. When anti-war candidate Eugene McCarthy almost defeated incumbent president Lyndon Johnson in 1968, Johnson declined to run for reelection. Bill Clinton revived his reputation as “the comeback kid” after a surprise second place finish in 1992 and businessman Donald Trump scored an overwhelming double-digit victory in 2016. No candidate since 1972 has won a major party nomination without finishing first or second in the Granite State.

While the stakes of the New Hampshire primary are always high, the 2020 Democratic contest is shaping up to be one of the most interesting in living memory. There is a large and diverse field of highly accomplished candidates, each articulating different visions and connecting with voters in new ways. The first debates — one of the most important events of a primary campaign according to Brookings Institution fellow Elaine Kamarck, author of Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know About How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates — begin today.

My journey also begins today. Along the way, I will track my progress here. I hope to answer questions about the state of the 2020 Democratic race, the inner workings of the New Hampshire primary, the role of campaigns and elections in general and the overall direction of American politics. I will write a combination of news reports, analysis pieces, literature reviews and personal reflections, all on the ground from New Hampshire.

I am a rising junior at Williams College in western Massachusetts. I am a political science major and I work for my student newspaper, the Record. I am based outside Keene, New Hampshire for the summer.

This work is made possible by the Russell H. Bostert Memorial Fellowship at Williams College.