Entry note: An audio montage of this submission is featured below, but you can also listen by referring to the file uploaded to the entry form.
It’s no secret that politics is the unofficial state sport in New Hampshire. And coming off a raucous presidential primary campaign in early 2016, NHPR’s reporters, editors and producers were already moving at top speed heading into the year’s state-level elections.
With multiple key offices up for grabs, our newsroom set out to cover these local races comprehensively and creatively. We planned with several goals in mind: introduce a crop of relatively unknown candidates to our audience; focus on the issues shaping the races without drowning our listeners in minutia; and bring a sense of surprise, creativity and fun to our daily coverage. We also dug into some of the behind-the-scenes forces shaping state politics, including the role of money on the campaign trail, the impact of gerrymandering on local races, and the ways candidates used technology to influence voters.
And while much of our reporting focused on the hustle and bustle of the campaign trail, we also reported stories that touched only tangentially on the political fight du jour, with a goal of communicating how Granite Staters feel about the present political climate.
Listen to a montage of the NHPR's election coverage:
Featured audio stories:
4.20.16: Gerrymandering and the Republican N.H. Advantage
5.25.16: Joint Fundraising in the Ayotte-Hassan Senate Race
7.14.16: The Shelburne Identity: Why Is One Tiny Town Such an Election Day Bellwether?
9.1.16: The LLC Loophole in the New Hampshire Governor's Race
9.6.16: Van Ostern's Yogurt-Filled Gubernatorial Campaign
9.14.16: How Much Power Does New Hampshire's Governor Have, Anyway? (Not Much!)
10.17.16: A Congressional Candidate's Business Record Under Scrutiny
10.27.16: Growing Up Sununu
11.2.16: Hassan's Campaigning on a Strong N.H. Economy, but Can She Take Credit?
11.2.16: Ayotte Runs Toward the Middle in Senate Race
11.3.16: Student Voices from a Bellwether City
11.8.16: Live Election Night Broadcast
11.10.16: Is Tiny Newfields New Hampshire's New Seat of Power?
Additional stories:
8.12.16: Trump's Influence on a Tight State Senate Race
10.4.16: Planned Parenthood's Role in the N.H. Governor's Race
10.6.16: The Outhouse Ballot Box
10.18.16: A Closer Look at a Rare Swing State Senate District
10.24.16: "Businessman" Gubernatorial Candidate Colin Van Ostern's Political Operative Past
11.4.16: Tiny State Senate Races Could Have a Big Policy Impact
11.7.16: Arm Wrestling and Organizing - The Final Push in the Governor's Race