New Hampshire Republican primary, 2012

New Hampshire Republican primary, 2012

2008 ← January 10, 2012 (2012-01-10) → 2016

The 2012 New Hampshire Republican primary is a presidential primary contest, which is scheduled to be held on January 10, 2012.^[1] New Hampshire historically is the first state in the nation to hold presidential primaries, and was forced to move its date up because Iowa, another early state, had moved its caucus to January 3, 2012. Because New Hampshire has a proportional-delegate primary, the state's 12 national delegates will be allocated in proportion to candidates' percent of the popular vote.^[2]

Campaign

Mitt Romney, who served as governor of neighboring Massachusetts for two terms, enjoyed strong support in New Hampshire during the Republican race. Two candidates placed strong focus on New Hampshire, namely Jon Huntsman and Buddy Roemer. Roemer struggled for media attention throughout the primary and staked his entire campaign in New Hampshire. Huntsman, who appealed to moderate Republicans and independents in his campaign, pressed his finances and campaign offices into New Hampshire, holding dozens of town hall meetings. Huntsman was an enthusiastic supporter of the New Hampshire primary and chose to protest Nevada's Republican Party, which threatened to hold an early primary in October 2011.^[3]

Ballot

In 2012, a record 33 Republican candidates filed to appear on the ballot in New Hampshire. Several single-issue activists and protest candidates registered to gain recognition for their causes, and to take advantage of New Hampshire's lenient ballot access laws.^[4] For instance, Stewart Greenleaf, who had no interest in becoming President, registered for the ballot to promote the issue of government spending in the Republican Party.^[5] According to its laws, a candidate is only required to pay $1,000 to the state's treasury, and needs no party approval or petitions for placement.^[6]

The following candidates were listed on the New Hampshire ballot:^[7]

	Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Delegates
	Ron Paul			-
	Fred Karger			-
	Andy Martin			-
	Jon Huntsman			-
	Buddy Roemer			-
	Herman Cain			-
	Vern Wuensche			-
	Rick Santorum			-
	Mark Callahan			-
	Mitt Romney			-
	Hugh Cort			-
	L. John Davis, Jr.			-
	Joe Story			-
	Linden Swift			-
	James A. Vestermark			-
	Jeff Lawman			-
	Joe Robinson			-
	Keith Drummond			-
	Newt Gingrich			-
	Randy Crow			-
	Michele Bachmann			-
	Michael J. Meehan			-
	Benjamin Linn			-
	Christopher V. Hill			-
	Stewart J. Greenleaf			-
	Gary Johnson			-
	Rick Perry			-
	Timothy Brewer			-
	Kevin Rubash			-
	Bear Betzler

Polling

Main article: Statewide opinion polling for the Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2012#New Hampshire (23 Delegates)

See also

• New Hampshire primary
• Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2012

References

1. ^ CNN.com: New Hampshire to vote Jan. 10
2. ^ "Election Guide 2012 - Presidential Election - Politics". The New York Times. http://politics.nytimes.com/packages/html/election-guide/2008/primaries/states/NH.html. 
3. ^ http://www.eagletribune.com/newhampshire/x1184196471/Huntsman-defends-N-H-primary-focuses-on-economy
4. ^ http://www.boston.com/Boston/politicalintelligence/2011/10/primary-ballot-becomes-equalizer-between-top-tier-perennial-candidates/MkD7dWcT2Nq0gUe2Gv1GuM/index.html
5. ^ http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/132971083.html
6. ^ http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/28/news/la-pn-new-hampshire-ballot-20111028
7. ^ http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/67115.html#ixzz1cVMSwZwT

External links

• New Hampshire Republican State Committee Official Website