Republicans mulling a 2024 presidential bid are paying close attention to New Hampshire, moving swiftly since former President Donald Trump exited the White House to ingratiate themselves with influential political figures in the Granite State.
Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas is returning to New Hampshire in July for a couple of events. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo headlined a virtual fundraiser for a state legislative candidate in March; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was in the state in April; Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, was there in May; and former Vice President Mike Pence was there in June.
Additionally, Republican sources say former ambassador Nikki Haley is “quietly engaging” key GOP activists in New Hampshire to find out how she can boost the party’s efforts in 2022, as well as a couple of competitive local elections scheduled for this year. Unsaid but obvious is that Haley also is laying the foundation for a possible 2024 bid. “It is low-profile outreach, but she isn’t sitting still here,” a Republican operative said.
Prominent Republicans are parading through Iowa, where quadrennial presidential caucuses traditionally lead off voting in the GOP primary. New Hampshire, host of the first standard primary, votes second, eliciting similar attention from 2024 hopefuls, even as Trump tells confidants he plans to mount a third White House bid. Unlike Iowa, where the caucuses are dominated by grassroots conservatives, New Hampshire permits independents to vote in the primary. Sometimes, they influence the outcome.
RON DESANTIS HEADING TO NEVADA FOR GOP EVENT THAT ATTRACTS PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS
In the Democratic Party, there is a movement to upend the early primary schedule that for decades has seen the Iowa caucuses go first and the New Hampshire primary go second. Those states are predominantly white and do not have large populations of urban voters and ethnic minorities critical to the Democrats’ governing coalition. In Nevada, Democrats are attempting to claim first-in-the-nation status, approving a state law that would bump Iowa and New Hampshire.
Conversely, Republicans are defending the customary calendar and attempting to use the issue to win support from GOP activists and voters in the early states.
For instance, Cotton personally invited New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, a Democrat, to testify in the Senate Judiciary Committee against a Democratic bill that would overhaul federal election law, shifting some of the power over elections from the states to Washington. Gardner, who, like the Republicans, believes the legislation could precipitate the end of New Hampshire’s “first in the nation” primary, accepted Cotton’s invitation, and the senator introduced him to the panel.
Meanwhile, Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas, sometimes mentioned as a 2024 contender, is headed to New Hampshire next month to headline a county GOP fundraiser.
