Campaigning in New Hampshire is having almost no impact on polling there
The Republicans leading the presidential pack have spent very little time in the Granite State.
Here is a fact: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has spent 33 days in New Hampshire since August as he campaigns for the Republican presidential primary.
Here is another fact: Graham is the favored candidate of less than one percent of New Hampshire voters.
Graham is perhaps the most visible example of what The New York Times calls the “increasing quaint’’ idea that winning New Hampshire can be the spark of a successful run to becoming president.
In all, the Times analyzed the number of days spent in New Hampshire and the current average polling position of each Republican candidate.
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The numbers show that personally spending time in New Hampshire has very little, if any, impact on polling there.
Graham, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich have all bet the house on wooing New Hampshire voters, spending 20 or more days there since August. Still, all remain firmly in the second- or third-tier in polls.
Donald Trump, who dominates in these polls, has spent just seven days in New Hampshire since August. Ben Carson, who is in second place among NH voters, has spent just three days there.
The graph suggests that the days of New Hampshire being a bellwether for presidential runs – think Bill Clinton’s “comeback kid’’ nickname after finishing 2nd there in 1992 – could be waning.
All that campaigning in New Hampshire has been nice for another politician, though: Scott Brown.
The former U.S. Senator from Massachusetts moved to the Granite State last year and has become a mainstay on the presidential candidate circuit with his “No-B.S.’’ backyard barbecues. Eight Republican candidates have already visited him, The Washington Post reports.
Gallery: The 2016 presidential candidates
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