​​Five candidates, 13 campaigns walk in Amherst Fourth of July parade

AMHERST, N.H. — Five presidential candidates marched in Amherst, New Hampshire's 50th annual Fourth of July parade on Thursday morning, when they walked a route of six blocks before an unusually large crowd of five to ten thousand people for the anniversary celebration.

The five candidates in attendance — Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, former Maryland Congressman John Delaney and former Massachusetts Governor William Weld, the longshot Republican challenger to President Donald Trump — were joined by their New Hampshire campaign staffs and the Granite State staffs of eight additional candidates, who did not personally attend but sent delegations.

The 13 campaigns, the grand finale of a parade that also included firetrucks, antique cars, circus performers and local politicians, all carried signs and shouted slogans. The side-by-side display offered a small window into the organization of each candidate in the state.

Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who marched at the very end of the almost hour-long parade, waved to parade-goers along the final stretch.

For the candidates who were present, the parade was a chance to shake hands with voters while surrounded by large crowds in a feel-good patriotic atmosphere. For voters, it was an opportunity to roughly compare the size of each campaign and the reception of each candidate among their friends and neighbors, as well as match names with faces for the lesser-known contenders.

While some of the parade-goers left once the candidates entered into view, much of the crowd stayed to snap pictures or just take in the sights and sounds. Klobuchar appeared first with her family, flanked by large "Amy" signs. Gillibrand, Delaney and Weld were interspersed throughout, while Gabbard brought up the rear, as she slowed down frequently to walk and talk with voters.

The New Hampshire campaigns of New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and California Senator Kamala Harris followed Klobuchar with sizable contingents. Although the delegations for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden approximately matched Booker and Harris, the largest group of the day belonged to Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Several dozen staffers and supporters of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who had the largest delegation, walked behind a red pick-up truck decorated in "With With Warren" signs.

Of the top-tier candidates, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg had the fewest representatives, although his campaign announced on Saturday plans to add hundreds of staffers after his first-place second-quarter fundraising total.

While the campaigns benefitted from the exposure of the well-attended event, the down time before and after the parade also allowed New Hampshire-based activists to confront the candidates about their positions on policy issues.

Phoebe Dolan, 21, an activist with the New Hampshire Youth Movement and a resident of Dover, New Hampshire, spoke directly with Gillibrand before the parade and asked the New York Senator about her plans for "free college for all." Dolan cited that New Hampshire has the highest in-state tuition in the country and the highest average student debt in the country.

Gillibrand replied that she supported two years of tuition-free education for anyone that serves one year in her national service program and four years of tuition-free education for anyone that serves two years, an answer that was not satisfactory for Dolan.

Tristram Patoine, 22, a recent graduate of Keene State College, explained that the New Hampshire Youth Movement is "an issue-based organization" that is "founded and completely run by young people." He described how activists have attended events and questioned candidates "on a weekly basis, if not more." He touted that the group recently got former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke to sign a pledge against taking money from the fossil fuel industry after asking him several times at multiple events.

The New Hampshire Youth Movement was not the only activist group with a presence at the celebration. It was also not the only activist group to describe a strategy of training volunteers to attend New Hampshire primary events and ask face-to-face questions to presidential candidates on specific policy issues.

Isaac Grimm, the New Hampshire Organizing Director of Rights and Democracy, a group founded in 2015 to organize for progressive candidates in Vermont and New Hampshire, said that his organization has "trained about 70 people to ask clear, compelling questions." He called the New Hampshire primary "important" for the group, which marched in the parade and tabled on the town green, "because it brings up conversations that need to be happening."

In addition to their shared tactics, both groups espoused similar goals of making their issues a litmus test for the Democratic candidates and shifting the Overton window to the left during the primary. Grimm said Rights and Democracy wanted "to push all of the candidates to take bolder stances" and Patoine explained that, for the New Hampshire Youth Movement, "the goal is to bring candidates to a higher standard."

"We really have a chance to put this country on a better path," Patoine said.

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