On Jan 27, big names gathered in a little New England state to fight it out in the second primary of the year. About 218,000 people cast their votes in the New Hampshire primary.
Finishing first with 39 percent of the popular vote was Massachusetts senator, John Kerry, who said in his acceptance speech, “I want you to march with us across this land and demand a government that’s on your side again. That is the mission of this campaign. And together, we can lift our country up, up to the America that all of us know that we can become,” according to CNN.
Following a steady second behind Kerry was former Vermont governor Howard Dean with 26 percent of the vote. Dean’s flammable personality, which caused a lot of controversy at the Iowa caucus, was toned down for the New Hampshire primary.
“We can take back America and stand up for working families and middle-class families again, and take our government back,” said Dean, according to CNN. “And this time, we can really have a president who really is a uniter, not a divider. And we will.”
Meanwhile third, fourth, and fifth place went to General Wesley Clark, John Edwards, Joe Lieberman with 13 percent, 12 percent and nine percent of the vote. According to the Washington Post, Lieberman described his fifth place finish as a “three-way tie for third.”
Guilford student Noah Forman is from New Hampshire. “I voted absentee for Dean, as did both of my parents. I was disappointed that Kerry won because for the last year it has felt like Dean country there,” he said. “I think I counted twenty Dean signs on a 10 mile ride from my house to my old high school. I read that Dean won almost every small town but Kerry took the bigger cities, Manchester and Concord, by a large margin.”
Erica Bratx, also from New Hampshire, was surprised at the outcome of the primaries. “I think the fact that Kerry won the Iowa caucus and also how the media talked him up and Dean down so much, altered the opinions of some people.”
Voters returned to the ballots on Feb. 3, in a seven state caucus involving Arizona, Delaware, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Carolina. Kerry claimed victory over five of the seven states. Notably, Edwards won South Carolina and Clark just barely won Oklahoma.
While the elections in November are a long way off, each new primary provides a preview of what can be expected in the presidential election. A recent popularity poll conducted by CNN and USA Today after the New Hampshire primaries showed that Kerry edged out President Bush 53 to 46 percent. The battle for the White House in the fall is going to be brutal.
In his closing speech Kerry said, “While we still have miles to go, and we do, and we will be leaving tonight to begin the journey of those miles, to take this fight to the rest of the country.” Upcoming Primaries –
Feb. 7 – Michigan and Washington

Feb. 9 – Maine

Feb. 10 – Tennessee and Virginia