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Final results: Summary results | Town resultsThe BasicsThe New Hampshire primary is a mainstay in American electoral politics. Every four years, voters gather to help determine the Republican and/or Democratic nominee for President. While the state only has 12 electoral votes in 2012 (normally it’s 24, but the Republican National Committee penalized the state party for moving up the event date), the primary’s position as one of the earliest contests gives the state out-sized influence over the nomination process.Only the Iowa caucuses come before New Hampshire’s primary. Traditionally, New Hampshire’s broad-based primary contest has been seen as a counter-weight to Iowa’s more drawn-out caucus process, which tends to draw a smaller core of party faithful. In the case of the 2012 Republican race, New Hampshire’s electorate is seen to represent the more libertarian-leaning, fiscally conservative wing of the party, while Iowa voters are seen as representing the socially conservative wing of the GOP base.N.H. Primary summary provided by StateImpact - NH reporter, Amanda Loder

Campaign Trails Cross For Smith And Lamontagne

Dan Gorenstein
/
NHPR

GOP gubernatorial candidates Ovide Lamontagne and Kevin Smith spent the last day before the primary pressing the flesh.  The two even campaigned together...sort of.

Politicians of all stripes have happily interrupted diners’ meals at the Puritan Back Room in Manchester for years.

Rarely have two rivals done it at the same time.

Both GOP candidates worked the lunchtime crowd at the Puritan Monday afternoon.

On paper, the policy differences between the two are subtle.

But when it comes to life experience, Ovide Lamontagne says he sees a significant difference.

“When it comes to leadership experience in government and in business and civic and charitable world, I bring that to the table.”

Smith says he thinks his plan to cut business taxes – which is much more aggressive than Lamontagne’s – has helped people make up their minds. 

“When people have said to me they are going to support me over Ovide, they usually say it’s because I have more of a long range plan and a detailed plan of where I would like to see the state a decade from now.”

Smith and Lamontagne believe business tax cuts will spur job growth in the state.

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