New Hampshire is a small, relatively homogenous, generally moderate and overwhelmingly peaceful state. As a proud beacon of these uncontroversial qualities, the Granite State receives a staggeringly disproportionate amount of attention in the raucous and tendentious world of politics.
Before 1992, New Hampshire was considered a solidly conservative state, abandoning the Republican Party for only three presidential elections those of Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson. The trend broke in the 1990s with the election of Bill Clinton the "comeback kid" of the 1992 New Hampshire state primary.
New Hampshire's newfound "swing" status brought it to national attention, highlighted by the significance of the state's primary (the nation's first), whose result is considered indicative of presidential candidate's future success.
Nestled comfortably into the political and social fabric of this maverick state is, of course, Dartmouth College.
When one thinks of college campus politics it is generally assumed that the student body will represent a more liberal and progressive population than the national average. And although it is generally considered in line with that assumption now, Dartmouth has a history of conservatism that sets it apart from its peer institutions.
According to the College Democrats president Ryan Tincher '12, there are no average politics for Dartmouth students.
"I have a lot of very conservative friends and a lot of very liberal friends," Tincher said. "Most students either identify strongly with the conservatives or the liberals."
The burning libertarianism of so many New Hampshirites is almost lost on the Dartmouth campus, according to Tincher. Although there is an established group, the Dartmouth College Libertarians, the proportion of those politically active in the party is significantly smaller than that in the state itself.
Fighting against seat-belt and motorcycle-helmet laws and required automobile insurance, the "Live Free or Die" state motto is ingrained in New Hampshire in a way that is not reflected in the College's student body.
But something else is.
Like the state of New Hampshire, Dartmouth has fought political labels vigilantly. The growing democratic forces in both the state and the College have both been tempered by prominent conservative voices.
"A lot of New Hampshire residents are pretty moderate, middle of the road types," Tincher said. "I think that Dartmouth students are either more liberal or more conservative than the average New Hampshire voter."
Alex Mahler-Haug '11, who has worked at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center Policy Research Shop for the past three terms and is a Public Policy minor, explained that although New Hampshire contains constituents from the entire political spectrum, the average voter is predictably moderate. Mahler-Haug is a former member of The Dartmouth Staff.
"Based on my experience talking to residents and working on polls, New Hampshire residents are really passionate about certain issues," Mahler-Haug said. "My instinct is that people are very issue-minded and fiercely independent."
Dartmouth is, as many students enjoy recognizing, one of New Hampshire's most significant and influential institutions.
"Our biggest influence has been our ability to get people to the polls," Tincher said. He noted that 89 percent of the Dartmouth student body voted in the 2008 presidential elections, earning the Dartmouth's College Democrats the ranking of the third best College Democrats chapter in the country.
Tincher added that the College Republicans were also very involved during the election in encouraging voters, and thus the voter turnout is more a reflection of how politically engaged the campus is across the ideological spectrum.
Both the Rockefeller Center and the College Democrats play essential roles in providing forums for political conversation at the College and within the state in general.
Tincher noted that because of Dartmouth's relative size and importance in New Hampshire, the College is able to host various politicians and important state and nation-wide political figures.
State Senator Matthew Houde '91, Chair of Upper Valley Democrats John Chamberlin '63, former mayor of Lebanon Karen Liot Hill '00, and State Representative David Pierce '77 all spoke at the College Democrats first Fall term meeting on Monday.
During the N.H. state primary, visits at the College from presidential candidates are common. The political importance of New Hampshire as a state is certainly not lost on Dartmouth students, according to Tincher.
"During the New Hampshire Republican Convention, Dartmouth students were very active in voicing their opinions and carried a lot of weight in the committees," Danny Kim '11, who is the president of College Republicans, said.
Some members of the College Democrats believe that if more Dartmouth students had gotten to the polls in the 2000 presidential elections, Al Gore would have won the state of New Hampshire and thus enough electoral votes to take the presidency. Although this presumption might be inflated, it is indicative of the extent to which Dartmouth believes it affects state and national politics.
"Dartmouth students are more politically active than students at our peer institutions," Tincher said. "This is partially because of our location in New Hampshire, but also because of the type of student that comes to Dartmouth."
Similarly, New Hampshire residents take their political power very seriously.
"New Hampshire citizens really pride themselves on being able to determine candidates for national elections," Mahler-Haug said. "There are some pretty tight races, but there's really good energy and turnout."
