Thomas MacMillan Photo
Odorico Fonseca gets the news from Obama volunteer Emily Gold.
Manchester, N.H.—You didn’t know people could vote for Barack Obama in the year’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary? Neither did Odorico Fonseca.
That’s right. In addition the Republican presidential primary that dominated the news, a Democratic presidential primary officially took place in new Hampshire Tuesday. The president had a team of workers out in the field pulling votes. He ended up sailing to a decisive victory over 13 rivals — including household names like Vermin Supreme and Craig “Tax Freeze” Freis — who qualified for the ballot in the Democratic primary. (All it takes is $1,000 to get on the New Hampshire primary ballot.)
Fonseca, a 74-year-old Uruguayan immigrant, was surprised to learn he could vote for Obama on Tuesday. In fact, each state can potentially have Republican and Democratic primaries or caucuses, although they are not always held on the same day. Connecticut’s primaries will be held on Tuesday, April 24. Secretary of the State spokesman Av Harris said no Democratic primary will take place in Connecticut unless more than one candidate qualifies for the ballot; so far that hasn’t happened.
On Tuesday, the New Hampshire Obama for America operation had a chance to test its muscles with a get out the vote effort for the Democratic primary. It was an opportunity to field test the operation, and gather useful information about prospective voters for the November general election.
For seasoned campaign volunteer Kate Donaghue, it was a chance to show her first-time canvassing partner how to pull out votes from unlikely places.
The president carried the day by winning 82 percent of over 50,000 Democratic ballots cast.
On the Republican ballot, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney solidified his frontrunner status by capturing 39 percent of the over 220,000 Republican votes cast.
Earlier Tuesday, the Manchester Obama For America offices on Maple Street buzzed with activity. Handmade posters and Obama 2012 placards covered the walls as phone-bankers called registered Democrats to urge them to vote.
Obama For America has seven field offices and more than 10 staging areas in New Hampshire, more than the total of all the Republican candidates combined. While the “For Lease” sign on Romney’s Manchester headquarters shows that his campaign will be pulling out of New Hampshire on Wednesday, Obama’s staff are not going anywhere.
Quinnipiac students Katie Lanzaratto, Morgan Farrah, Evan Milas, and Rebecca Cashman phone homes for Obama.
The campaign saw an influx of out-of-state support for primary day, including a group of students up from Quinnipiac University. Just before noon on Tuesday, four of them manned Obama For America prepaid flip phones.
Most people didn’t know about the Democratic primary, said Katie Lanzaratto, a Quinnipiac senior from Waterford, Connecticut. She said she heard a lot of, “Oh, he’s on the ballot?” in the course of her phone calls.
Other people asked what the point is of voting in the primary, said Evan Miles, a sophomore from Woodbridge. He said the point is to create momentum for Obama in advance of the general election.
Desai Decides
Donaghue and Gold chart their course through the neighborhood.
In addition to phone-bankers like Lanzaratto and Miles, the Obama team sent out canvassers on Tuesday. Manchester native Emily Gold, a 17-year-old high school senior, climbed into Donaghue’s Honda Civic hybrid to head out for some door-knocking.
Donaghue, a 57-year-old semi-retired software engineer and a veteran of years of Democratic campaigns, was up for the day from Westborough, Mass. Her car was plastered with bumper stickers trophies from past battles.
Gold found most voters weren’t home when she came calling.
After hitting a few doors together on Wheelock Street, Donaghue and Gold split up to cover more ground. They found people were not home at many addresses. Donaghue found that one prospective voter on their clipboard had passed away.
“That’s part of why we do this,” she said. “It helps us get our lists up to date.”
“It’s basically all just looking toward November,” said Gold.
Gold made contact at a house on Frederick Street, where Fonseca, a 74-year-old Uruguayan immigrant answered the door. He was surprised to hear there was a Democratic primary. He was unable to get to the polling station on his own. Although the campaign wasn’t officially offering organized rides to the polls, Donaghue later doubled back to give him a lift in her car.
Just a short time later, Donaghue and Gold found vote-pulling success with another immigrant to the United States. Donaghue visited an Econolodge on West Hancock Street, the residence of four likely Obama voters, according to the list.
The man working the counter, assistant manager Desai, let her use the lobby phone to get assurances from the listed voters that they would vote for Obama.
Desai.
Then Donaghue turned her attention to Desai.
“Are you a voter?” she asked him.
He said he just became a U.S. citizen in November, after immigrating from Bombay several years ago. He didn’t know if he could be registered that day to vote in the primary, he said.
Donaghue quickly called campaign headquarters and found that Desai could do same-day registration at the polls with proof of identification and residency.
Desai promised he would cast his ballot later that day, along with his hotel guests, and that he’d vote for Obama.
The president is changing the economy, Desai said. He pointed to the recent announcement that the unemployment rate has sunk to 8.5 percent. It’s a slow process to right the economy, and Obama needs more time, he said. “Efforts will result after some time.”
Donaghue offered her congratulations on Desai’s first vote as an American, then darted out to hit more houses.
Bumper Buddy
“You never miss an opportunity” for voter contact, Donaghue advised Gold back in the car. “If you’re talking to someone, it’s an opportunity for a vote.”
She recounted the story of the time someone rear-ended her car as she was working on Devall Patrick’s Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign. Her car was totaled. While she and the other driver were waiting for the police, he mentioned he liked her bumper stickers. She asked if she could count on his vote for Patrick.
They became Facebook friends. He later contributed $500 to Elizabeth Warren’s U.S. Senate campaign in response to an online plea from Donaghue.
“Voters,” Donaghue said, “are where you find them.”
Previous primary coverage:
• “Ron Paul Revolution” Brings Debate To Streets
• Romney Takes On The Occupiers
• Orthodoxy Broken; A Door Opens
• Occupiers Crash The Primary