The New Hampshire primary has officially jumped the shark – struggling to stay relevant in an era when it’s become just a blip on the presidential radar.
It’s not even worth making fun of anymore.
The media is really going to have to stretch to find a compelling storyline this time.
The interest level outside New Hampshire is minimal. And the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to take up the case of whether former President Trump can be barred from the ballot assures that he will dominate the news for the next several weeks until at least the court’s hearing on Feb. 8.
But the sad process of the Granite State primary goes on anyway. Dixville Notch is getting ready for the hordes of media that probably won’t show up to record those dozen votes. They are streaming it because who wants to drive to Dixville Notch in the middle of winter?
There is no Democratic race because President Biden pulled out in a hissy fit.
A fumbling, stumbling Nikki Haley is desperately trying to make it a race on the Republican side even though Donald Trump continues to dominate the small field. She had momentum but blew it with her non-answer on whether slavery helped start the Civil War.
What are the big story lines? How much did Gov. Chris Sununu help Haley? How bad will Chris Christie lose and when will he drop out? When can we expect another “highly anticipated” visit from Vivek Ramaswamy.
Even if Haley somehow pulls off a miraculous upset, Trump is crushing her and the other GOP candidates nationally and it won’t make much of an impact.
Will New Hampshire Democrats care enough to scribble Biden’s name on the ballot? Who cares? Can anyone name the Democratic congressman who’s running?
In the week leading up to the Jan. 23 primary, the media will instead be hyper-focused on the Supreme Court case and the brothel case taking place in Cambridge and who will end up on the list of clients. There are 28 probable cause hearings scheduled for Jan. 18, 19 and 22 – a day before the primary.
And the main story of the presidential campaign remains the efforts in other states to keep Trump off the ballot.
The luster and relevance of the primary actually wore off years ago when candidates who lost the primary still ended up in the White House. For example, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Joe Biden. And the winners end up losers, like the late John McCain.
New Hampshire no longer is the barometer of who gets elected in November. The days of Granite State voters being kingmaker is long over.
It’s a quaint tradition for Granite State voters who get to see candidates up close, but for everyone else it’s an overrated spectacle that has little impact on the campaign in other states.
