Donald Trump's outside-the-box presidential campaign reportedly has some New Hampshire Republicans fretting about the future of the Granite State's first-in-the-nation primary status.
A Trump win Feb. 9 in New Hampshire's GOP primary — where's he's running well ahead of the field, according to an averaging of polls by
Real Clear Politics — could very well "reset the dynamic," according to a former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, the
Boston Globe reports.
"In the past, not every candidate who did lots of grass-roots activities did well — but every candidate who did well in New Hampshire, without exception, did lots of grass-roots activities," Cullen said, the Globe reports.
"It could reset the dynamic. To some extent, successful candidates have always honored the tradition in New Hampshire while also making sure the time was quality and productive time. Trump has made no pretense of doing that."
GOP activist Ryan Williams tells the Globe that New Hampshire has always been a respected first-in-the-nation primary state because "we do the hard work and look the candidates in the eye so the country knows who the best person is."
"But Trump has been able to build support in the state without having to do any of the town hall meetings, the activist meetings, the stops at local coffee shops that most primary candidates have to do," he said. "He's just parachuting in and leaving."
"A Trump victory would give some ammunition to other states who are jealous about New Hampshire's status," he added.
According to the Globe, a Republican national committeeman from Texas is already making moves to change the primary process in a way that would not grant any special status to New Hampshire.
And Republican
National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said almost two years ago the GOP would reevaluate the entire primary process.
New Hampshire's fight to retain its premier primary status is nothing new, the Globe reports.
"We have to go through this almost every cycle," former N.H. Gov. John Sununu tells the Globe.
Pat Buchanan, who mounted an insurgent campaign and defeated Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole in 1996, agrees.
"They're always alarmed when they lose any measure of control," he tells the Globe. "The fact that we won it, they were very concerned."
"The establishment would probably like to do away with New Hampshire and Iowa," he added. "They would like to start with New York."
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