PORTSMOUTH HERALD

Candidates begin final sprint to Feb. 9 primary

Staff Writer
Portsmouth Herald

Candidates have begun the final sprint to the New Hampshire presidential primary on Feb. 9.

Last night, Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, was in Newmarket and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, was in Hampton. Gov. Chris Christie, R-New Jersey, will make appearances in Rochester on Tuesday and Portsmouth on Wednesday. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, will be in Dover today and Exeter on Tuesday. Most other candidates have events planned across the state.

Surrogates have also begun to hit the campaign trail. President Bill Clinton is in Exeter today stumping for Hillary and on Friday, "Girls" writer and star Lena Dunham and soccer star Abby Wambach will appear in Portsmouth at a Women For Hillary rally.

In fact, with so many candidates still in the race, New Hampshire voters would have to make an effort not to meet one of the men or women vying to be the next United States president.

The Seacoast Media Group editorial board has had the privilege of conducting in-depth conversations with most of the candidates in recent months. Sen. Paul will meet with us today and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina will be in Wednesday and then we will begin our endorsement deliberations, which will likely be published on Sunday, Jan. 17.

All candidates were invited to meet with the board and the only two major candidates who have not arranged to visit are Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas and Dr. Ben Carson, although our reporters have certainly covered their campaign events. Unlike Christie and Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, who have visited New Hampshire 57 times and 44 times respectively, Cruz and Carson have spent limited time in the Granite State, focusing more on Iowa, where they’re betting their message will resonate with evangelical voters.

It is our observation that unlike 2012, when incumbent President Barack Obama ran unopposed and Mitt Romney was clearly the only viable Republican, the 2016 field of candidates is deep with brains and talent. We have enjoyed our conversations not only with frontrunners but with candidates who failed to make the cut. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal spoke brilliantly about health care, former New York Gov. George Pataki had insights into alternative energy and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, offered a clear and aggressive vision for how to approach the rising threat posed by the Islamic State.

Our endorsements will be based on our conversations with the candidates, what they’ve had to say on the campaign trail and, most importantly, on their positions on key issues and track records of successes and failures. Each member of the editorial board listed on this page, as well as the Foster's Daily Democrat board, will offer their insights and then we will debate until we reach consensus. We intend to endorse a candidate in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. If we endorse a candidate in a primary it means we believe he or she would also be a highly qualified and successful president, regardless of the party.

There has been much debate in recent years over the significance of endorsements from newspapers and other organizations. Our goal with our endorsements is to make clear, positive arguments in favor of our candidates rather than tearing others down. We spend a great deal of time and resources following the campaign and believe based on that experience we can provide some insights to our readers and that it would be negligent not to do so.

But, as we noted at the beginning of this editorial, the opportunities our editorial board has enjoyed are available to all New Hampshire voters. If you have a question for a candidate, go see him or her and get an answer. Out-of-state visitors simply cannot believe the access New Hampshire voters have to presidential candidates. We urge you to take advantage of this opportunity before the primary. After Feb. 9 the candidates will move on to South Carolina and the rest of the nation’s contests and your opportunity will have passed.