College profs. study NH primaries
With the field of candidates narrowing for the 2000 presidential race, a new Dartmouth study shows that New Hampshire voters do not get the level of personal interaction with candidates that is widely assumed. The study, conducted by government Professors Linda Fowler, Constantine Spiliotes and Lynn Vavreck and based on data collected from the 1996 presidential race, shows that only 2.5 percent of voters receive three or more contacts from any candidate. Contacts are defined as meeting a candidate, seeing him or her at a rally, receiving a phone call from a campaign or receiving literature from a candidate in the mail. Candidates who engage in close contact with the voters are practicing "retail politics," and Spiliotes said there is a longstanding political science belief that voters in New Hampshire, the first primary state, make up their mind through meeting candidates. However, Spiliotes said, "In reality, most voters don't go out to meet the candidates to decide who to vote for." Spiliotes said the people who go to rallies to meet candidates are often those voters who are already partial to that particular candidate. According to the study, most New Hampshire voters had no contact with a presidential campaign between October 1995 and February 15, 1996. Fifty-six percent of voters never received a phone call, mailing or handshake from a candidate.