In the aftermath of Tuesday's New Hampshire presidential primary, many student campaigners are breathing a sigh of relief as the excitement winds down.
"It's nice not to be standing out on random sidewalks freezing our toes off anymore," Amanda Dobbins '06 said. "Visibility is not exciting. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Still, the somewhat unexpected results of the campaign season's first primary left many feeling optimistic.
"My reaction to the results is 100-percent satisfaction," said Sasha Rogers '05, a Wesley Clark supporter. "Clark ran a tight campaign, we all worked hard, and I think [Tuesday] night you saw the beginning of a very impressive race."
Clark pulled ahead of Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina for a third-place finish behind Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean. Clark supporters predicted the former four-star general would do better in the South, closer to his native Arkansas.
"We felt like in a state caught between Kerry and Dean's home grounds, third to the two locals was a great way to go, especially for someone who entered the race so late," Dobbins said.
Dean supporters also remained upbeat, despite the doctor's disappointing second-place finish.
"As for the results [Tuesday], I certainly would have liked to see us win but as it is I think we are well positioned to keep the fight going and turn things around," Dean volunteer Jordan Kovnot '04 said.
"I like our chances in a Dean vs. Kerry race. If it comes down to that the media will have to start scrutinizing Kerry as a candidate, and that will help to balance things out after the slugfest we have endured over the past two weeks," Kovnot said.
Supporters of North Carolina Sen. John Edwards had little to say by way of praise for his fourth-place finish, but are still looking ahead to next week's primaries.
"We have a very devoted group of Edwards supporters on campus, and we will try to help with the national campaign in any way that we can," Phil Peisch '04 said. Peisch didn't know what might be in store for northeastern supporters of Edwards, but he vowed to keep fighting.
Indeed, it was Kerry supporters who had the most to celebrate following the Massachusetts senator's second decisive win over Dean.
"We've been thinking that we were going to win [in New Hampshire], but just like in Iowa we were excited about the margin of victory," said Student Body President and Students for Kerry campaign leader Janos Marton '04.
Marton said he felt Kerry's victories came from voters' appreciation for the senator's experience in both foreign and domestic policy in comparison to Dean.
Kerry's victory was an upset of sorts, as he was trailing as much as 35 points in the polls only three weeks ago. However, campaigners "were never that disheartened and neither were the staffers, although some of the people who were lukewarm supporters left for a while," said Marton.
"But they came back in the last week," he added.
Marton, like other campus campaign leaders, said he was relieved that the tumultuous New Hampshire primary was finally over.
"For me, it's a relief because I can get all the benefits of watching the drama unfold [in other states] without having to put too much work in -- the stressful part for me is over," Marton said.
Primaries will be held next Tuesday in Arizona, Delaware, Missouri, Oklahoma and South Carolina.
Voters will also participate in caucuses in New Mexico and North Dakota.
