Roundup: New Hampshire first-in-the-nation presidential candidates hold town halls, launch new ads, and prep for the Iowa debate in 9 days.
CONCORD, NH — With voting about a month away, New Hampshire first-in-the-nation presidential hopefuls are descending on the state in a mad dash to get to as many voters as possible.
While 50 people from both political parties paid a $1,000 fee to obtain ballot access in the state, Democrats are down to about 14 major candidates — including four frontrunners and four others with the potential to win enough voters to crack the Top 5.
Getting in front of as many people as possible, as well as influencing young people who perform a lot of the campaign tasks on the ground, is why many of the candidates will be in Manchester this week attending New England College’s College Convention 2020.
The convention, which begins with a registration Sunday and runs through Thursday at the DoubleTree Manchester Downtown Hotel, is the sixth time NEC has sponsored the event, according to Wayne Lesperance, the vice president of Academic Affairs and political science professor at the school.
Eleven candidates, including Democrats U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, former U.S. Rep. John Delaney, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Gov. Deval Patrick, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Marianne Williams, Andrew Yang, and Dr. Jill Biden, the former vice president’s wife, as well as former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh and Gov. William Weld, both Republicans, are confirmed to be in attendance or appearing via video sometime during the week.