Entry note: An audio montage of this submission is featured below, in addition to links to individual stories.
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 newsroom was already moving at top speed heading into the year’s state-level elections.
With multiple key offices up for grabs, we 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 Ayotte-Hassan Senate Race Helps in Hunt for National Cash
7.14.16: The Shelburne Identity: Why Is One Tiny Town Such an Election Day Bellwether?
8.12.16: Trump's Influence on a Tight State Senate Race
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!)
10.4.16: Planned Parenthood's Role in the N.H. Governor's Race
10.17.16: A Congressional Candidate's Business Record Under Scrutiny
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
10.27.16: Growing UpSununu
10.28.16: In One Congressional District, Election Day Feels Like Groundhog Day
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: Voices from a Bellwether City
11.4.16: Tiny State Senate Races Could Have a Big Policy Impact
11.7.16: Why Don't More People Vote in This One Manchester Neighborhood?
11.7.16: Arm Wrestling and Organizing - The Final Push in the Governor's Race
11.10.16: Is This Tiny Town New Hampshire's New Seat of Power?