Cover Story — Presidential Race

Political experts and Manchester party leaders confirm the 2004 Presidential Election between President George W. Bush and Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) will have an impact on state and local races.

Paul Barresi, chairman of the political science department at Southern New Hampshire University, said history shows that a presidential election draws thousands of additional voters to the polls every four years.

“There is a potential for a coat tail affect, especially for new voters and those that do not vote regularly. The additional people who come out to vote are there only for the presidential race. It presents a wild card for the other races,” Barresi said.

He added that most voters do not know other candidates running for U.S. and state senate and house seats. He believes there are three possibilities: 1) residents don’t vote for any other race than the presidential election, 2) residents vote a straight party ballot, 3) voters will split the ticket as an opportunity to create a divided government.

Ray Buckley, executive councilor candidate and chairman of the Manchester Democratic Committee, said although thousands of extra voters will come to the polls, not many will focus on the small races on the ballot.

“It will be very interesting to see what impact it does have,” Buckley said. “It could be quite an interesting election. Bush and Kerry are tied here. I am not sure it will have that big of a partisan impact.”

Cliff Hurst, chairman of the Manchester Republican Committee, said he believes the presidential election will have a large impact on the local races especially on the Republican side with incumbent candidates such as Sen. Judd Gregg and Congressman Jeb Bradley.

“They will be helpful to overall,” Hurst said. “There are people who will vote straight [ticket] but it would help at the polls.”