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The 2012 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary took place on Tuesday, January 10, 2012. Former
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Mitt Romney won the primary.


Campaign

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, Former Utah Governor
Jon Huntsman Jon Huntsman may refer to: * Jon Huntsman Sr. (1937–2018), corporate executive and philanthropist (father of Jon Huntsman Jr.) * Jon Huntsman Jr. (born 1960), U.S. politician and the former U.S. ambassador to Russia, China and Singapore * John A. ...
, Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and Former Pennsylvania Senator
Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and was the Senate's third ...
were heavily contesting and campaigning in the New Hampshire primary. Santorum won the Iowa Caucus on January 3, but no one knew that yet, and believed Romney had won by 8 votes. Televised debates in New Hampshire were held on January 7, 2012, on
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
at Saint Anselm College and the following morning on January 8, 2012, on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
's ''
Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ' ...
'' and
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...
. All major Republican candidates attended both debates.


Ballot

In 2012, a record 33 Republican candidates filed to appear on the ballot in New Hampshire, including various single-issue activists, protest candidates, and
perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...
s. For instance,
Stewart Greenleaf Stewart John Greenleaf Sr. (October 4, 1939 – February 9, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1979 to 2019. Greenleaf represented the 12th District, which includes portion ...
, who had no interest in becoming President, registered for the ballot to promote the issue of government spending in the Republican Party. Under New Hampshire's lenient
ballot access Elections in the United States refers to the rules and procedures regulating the conditions under which a candidate, political party, or ballot measure is entitled to appear on voters' ballots. As the nation's election process is decentralized b ...
laws, a candidate is only required to pay $1,000 to the state's treasury, and needs no party approval or petitions for placement.


Endorsements


Newspapers

Various newspapers that circulate widely in New Hampshire made endorsements ahead of the New Hampshire primary. While the conservative ''Union Leader'', the only statewide newspaper, endorsed Gingrich, various newspapers endorsed Huntsman, with the ''Valley News'' stating that Huntsman was "a candidate whose views are solidly conservative, but not myopically so" and criticizing Romney and Gingrich, stating that "The former has raised the flip-flop to an art form, while the latter has done the same for hypocrisy" and endorsing Huntsman "in the hopes that the cooler heads will prevail in New Hampshire and elsewhere." Romney also received support, including from the ''Portsmouth Herald'' of the Seacoast Region. *The ''
New Hampshire Union Leader The ''New Hampshire Union Leader'' is a daily newspaper from Manchester, the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. On Sundays, it publishes as the ''New Hampshire Sunday News.'' Founded in 1863, the paper was best known for the cons ...
'' endorsed Gingrich on November 27. *''
Foster's Daily Democrat ''Foster's Daily Democrat'' is a six-day (Monday–Saturday) morning broadsheet newspaper published in Dover, New Hampshire, United States, covering southeast New Hampshire and southwest Maine. In addition to its Dover headquarters, ''Foster's'' ...
'' endorsed Romney on December 4. *The ''
Portsmouth Herald ''The Portsmouth Herald'' (and ''Seacoast Weekend'') is a six-day daily newspaper serving greater Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Its coverage area also includes the municipalities of Greenland, New Castle, Newington and Rye, New Hampshire; and E ...
'' and
Seacoast Media Group Seacoast Media Group is a unit of Local Media Group. Seacoast publishes five weekly newspapers and one daily, ''The Portsmouth Herald'', along the coasts of New Hampshire and York County, Maine, United States. The group publisher is John Tabor; its ...
endorsed Romney on December 18. *The '' Keene Sentinel'' endorsed Huntsman on December 18. *The ''
Valley News The ''Valley News'' (and ''Sunday Valley News'') is a seven-day morning daily newspaper based in Lebanon, New Hampshire, covering the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont, in the United States. Although the newspaper's offices are ...
'' endorsed Huntsman on December 18. *The '' Conway Daily Sun'' endorsed Romney on December 21. *The ''
Concord Monitor The ''Concord Monitor'' is the daily newspaper for Concord, the state capital of New Hampshire. It also covers surrounding towns in Merrimack County, most of Belknap County, as well as portions of Grafton, Rockingham and Hillsborough counties ...
'' endorsed Huntsman on December 22. *The '' Boston Herald'' endorsed Romney. *The Salmon Press Newspapers group (the ''Littleton Courier'', ''Berlin Reporter'', and ''Coos County Democrat'') endorsed Paul on January 4. *The ''
Nashua Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', for most of its existence known as the ''Nashua Telegraph'', is a daily newspaper in Nashua, New Hampshire. It was founded as the ''Nashua Daily Telegraph'' in 1869, although a weekly version dates back to 1832. Through the 20 ...
'' endorsed Romney on January 5. *The ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' endorsed Huntsman on January 6. *The ''
Eagle-Tribune ''The Eagle-Tribune'' (and ''Sunday Eagle-Tribune'') is a seven-day morning daily newspaper covering the Merrimack Valley and Essex County, Massachusetts, and southern New Hampshire. It is the largest-circulation daily newspaper owned by Commun ...
'' endorsed Romney on January 6.


State politicians

Romney led the field in endorsements from New Hampshire Republican elected officials.Nicholas Confessore,
For Romney, Friends in High Places Help Get Out the N.H. Vote
(January 9, 2012), ''New York Times''.
The ''New York Times'' reported that after losing New Hampshire in the 2008 primary to John McCain, Romney devoted considerable time and money to gain the support of New Hampshire Republican figures. Romney's political action committee (PAC) "spread thousands of dollars" to New Hampshire Republican campaigns, including that of youthful Republican state Representative D.J. Bettencourt of the Republican-heavy Salem area, elected state House majority leader in 2011, who is one of Romney's most active supporters. Romney's PAC also donated $25,000 to the New Hampshire Republican State Committee under the chairmanship of prominent New Hampshire party player
John H. Sununu John Henry Sununu (born July 2, 1939) is an American politician who was the 75th governor of New Hampshire from 1983 to 1989 and later White House Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush. Born in Cuba to an American father and a Salva ...
, a former governor and White House Chief of Staff. Republican candidates for state Senate and state House, small-town Republican
committees A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
, and county sheriffs and district attorneys were all "recipients of omney'slargesse." Romney was criticized by some as "buying" endorsements, who referenced "blatantly transactional terms that lie behind the announcements." A large number of officials endorsing Romney, in New Hampshire and in other early primary states, had received contributions first. By December 11, Romney had already received the endorsement of
Ted Gatsas Theodore L. Gatsas (born May 22, 1950), known as Ted Gatsas, is an American politician and member of the Republican party who had served as Mayor of Manchester, New Hampshire from 2010 to 2018. He was a member of the New Hampshire Senate, repres ...
,
mayor of Manchester This is a list of the Lord Mayors of the City of Manchester in the North West of England. Not to be confused with the Directly elected Greater Manchester Mayor. The Current and 124th Lord Mayor is Cllr Donna Ludford, Labour who has served Sin ...
(New Hampshire's largest city) and former
state Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
president, and 58 endorsements from state representatives. According to prominent Romney supporter Thomas D. Rath, a former
state attorney general The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney gener ...
described as a Republican power broker, on the eve of the primary the Romney campaign had been endorsed by 11 of 19 Republicans in the State Senate, 73 or 74 of the Republican state representatives, and eight of the 10 sheriffs, as well as the mayor of the largest city. The ''New York Times'' reported that so many officials endorsed Romney that it took a three-page pamphlet mailed to New Hampshire Republicans to list them all. The Times reported that Romney-supporting officials "introduce him at virtually every campaign stop, flood gyms and seniors centers with crowds on short notice and attack his Republican rivals." New Hampshire House Speaker William L. (Bill) O'Brien endorsed Gingrich, while former House speakers George Roberts, Howard Burns, John Tucker, Donna Sytek, and Doug Scamman endorsed Romney. State Senators Jim Forsythe, Andy Sanborn, and Ray White endorsed Ron Paul.


Federal politicians

Of the three Republicans in New Hampshire's congressional delegation, Senator
Kelly Ayotte Kelly Ann Ayotte ( ; born June 27, 1968) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from New Hampshire from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Ayotte served as New Hampshire Attorney General from ...
and Representative
Charles Bass Charles Foster Bass (born January 8, 1952) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for from 1995 to 2007 and 2011 to 2013. He is the son of Perkins Bass, ...
endorsed Romney, while Frank Guinta declined to endorse a candidate. Executive Council members
Raymond S. Burton Raymond S. "Ray" Burton (August 13, 1939 – November 12, 2013) was a New Hampshire politician who served from 1977–79 and 1981–2013 on the Executive Council as the representative of District 1, or "The North Country". Known as the "Dea ...
(who has represented northern New Hampshire since the 1970s), Christopher T. Sununu, and Raymond Wieczorek;
State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
Majority Leader
Jeb Bradley Joseph E. "Jeb" Bradley (born October 20, 1952) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who serves in the New Hampshire Senate. He represents his hometown of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire and 16 other towns in east-central New Ha ...
, state Senators David Boutin, John Barnes, Jr., Jim Rausch, and Chuck Morse; and former state Senate President Tom Eaton endorsed Romney before December 7. Douglas Dutile, the sheriff of Grafton County, also endorsed Romney. Senator John McCain of
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, who won the New Hampshire Republican primary in 2000 and 2008 and was the Republican nominee for president in 2008, endorsed Romney following the Iowa caucuses and ahead of the New Hampshire primary at a Manchester rally on January 4, despite prior tension between the two in the 2008 primary race.


Tea Party

After Iowa but before the New Hampshire primaries,
tea party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defi ...
-aligned
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
businessman Carl Paladino, the 2010 gubernatorial candidate in nearby New York, supported Gingrich and sharply criticized the rest of the candidates.Benjy Sarlin,
Carl Paladino Trash-Talks The Entire GOP Field (Except Newt)
" (January 8, 2012). Talking Points Memo.


Rick Santorum's endorsements

Notably, former PA Sen. Rick Santorum gained a disproportionately high number of endorsements (when compared to his pre-Iowa polling in the single digits) in the run up to and including the NH Primary. At one point Santorum led the entire field of GOP candidates in total number of endorsements (until the entrance of Romney and Perry), and finished with more endorsees than even Huntsman who finished third in the race. This was due in large part to the efforts of Santorum's State Co-chairs: Rep. Dan Tamburello, a current member of the NH House of Representatives from Londonderry who spearheaded the effort, Hon. Bill Cahill, a former Governor's Councilor and member of the NH House, and Claira Monier, a notable Republican party activist who was instrumental in Reagan's NH victory in 1980. Sen Santorum's national campaign manager was by Mike Biundo, who was the architect of former Manchester mayor Frank Guinta's surprising 2010 primary upset for the NH 1st Congressional district; Guinta went on to win the NH-1 district in November 2010 in a decisive victory over Democrat Carol-Shea Porter, who never conceded the race. Other notable endorsements for the Senator included Sen. Jim Luther, Sen. Fenton Groen, former candidate for Governor Karen Testerman, Rep Susan DeLemus, and NH Tea-Party luminary Jerry DeLemus. Testerman and the DeLemus' endorsed Rick after having defected from the Bachmann camp.


Polling


Result

Delegates were awarded to candidates who got 10% or more of the vote proportionally.


References

{{reflist 2012 New Hampshire elections
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...