Correction appended
Two weeks after President Barack Obama's inauguration, the Grafton County Republican Party has already turned its sights toward future elections, and is now working to reach out to Dartmouth students, according to Bruce Perlo, chair of the Grafton County GOP.
The Republican party has had trouble building support in Grafton County for recent elections. The party did not contest the state House of Representatives races in the county in 2008 because no one was willing to run, Perlo said. The state senator and state representatives for Grafton County are all Democrats, as is New Hampshire's governor. In Washington, both representatives and one senator from the state are Democrats.
"We're going to increase our effort -- we need to have more interaction with our students," Perlo said. "We haven't been getting the message out."
To reach out to students and Upper Valley residents, Perlo said, the Grafton County GOP will hold "education events," featuring Republican speakers near Dartmouth and Plymouth, home of Plymouth State University.
Perlo said that the party has traditionally had difficulty connecting with students in the area.
"One of the issues, as I understand it, is that we can't go on the campus," Perlo said. "We have to use the folks that are students there and hope that they will be able to interest other students."
Political parties can rent facilities on campus, however, just as any other non-Dartmouth groups can, according to E. J. Kiefer, director of conferences and special events. Dartmouth technological resources cannot be used to send unsolicited campaign e-mails, though, and student groups who invite politicians to campus may not do so as part of a campaign, according to the Dartmouth Student Handbook.
It is difficult for Republicans to gain support within the student population because the majority of College personnel and people who regularly interact with students tend to be liberal, Perlo said.
"While they may not overtly present their point of view, when you have a point of view, and you talk about things it sort of permeates what you say," he said. "I think it's very difficult to keep your point of view separate."
Dartmouth students are often uninformed about local politics, Perlo said, and tend to vote a "straight ticket," voting for all candidates of a single party voting for that party in the national elections.
"In Hanover, as I understand it, there wasn't a single Dartmouth student at a recent town meeting," he said. "That is not really participation in the civic affairs of the town or county."
Former state senator Jim Rubens '72, a Republican, was dismissive of the party's chances of attracting student interest.
"Students' voting patterns are driven primarily by national issues," Rubens said. "Students are typically not connected with state and local matters."
Rubens said he had been involved in several political campaigns, including some that came to the Dartmouth campus. He argued that students should not vote if they do not know the candidates' positions and that it does not make sense for Dartmouth students to take the time to become informed about local politics.
"It's just not really rational to spend a lot of time learning about offices, candidates and issues that play over a long time and that will not impact them after they've moved," Rubens said. "I think something reasonable to recommend is that students understand that candidates who happen to have an 'R' next to their name vary and just simply don't all fit under the iconic Republican label."
The original version of this article incorrectly stated that Jim Rubens '72 was a former state representative. In fact, Rubens is a former state senator.
