Washington---There may be 605 days until the US presidential election, but it's never too soon for political pilgrimages to the state of New Hampshire -- and this weekend there will be plenty.
Four prospective Republican White House contenders, including Jeb Bush, converge on the well-trodden New England turf from Friday to Monday, in one of the biggest early campaign trail previews for 2016.
The Granite State holds the nation's first presidential primary vote, expected less than a year from now. And while its population is pint-sized, New Hampshire holds cherished superpower status in terms of giving the thumbs up -- or down -- for candidates of either party.
Bush dropped in Friday for two events, his first political trip to the state in 15 years, while another rising Republican, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, has no fewer than five meetings with potential supporters and donors on Friday and Saturday.
"They are both making first impressions," Fergus Cullen, a former New Hampshire Republican chairman who hosts Bush at a house party late Friday, told AFP.
"Anyone who's ever been on a first date knows how important it is to make a good first impression. There's a lot riding on it."
Ted Cruz knows that. The conservative US senator, who has made no secret of his interest in higher office, arrives Sunday for the first of three events.
Rick Perry, who has ramped up his political operation since leaving the Texas governor's mansion in January, attended four events in New Hampshire Thursday and was squeezing in four more on Friday.
"You all appreciate plain talk about as well as any place in this country," Perry told the "politics and eggs" breakfast at The New England Council business group.
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Several other Republican hopefuls including Senator Rand Paul and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie have visited the state too.
"This is as wide open a race as I've ever seen," Cullen said.
"None of them have any appreciable advantage that anyone would feel confident was going to hold up or would earn the title frontrunner at this stage. And that is unusual."
Frontrunners have suffered upsets in New Hampshire, where voters are less interested in a candidate steamrolling to victory and more eager to engage -- often multiple times -- with various politicians.
"There is something about the electorate here that does not like a coronation," said Cullen, who will host at least 100 voters for a meet-and-greet with Bush as he lays groundwork for an almost-certain presidential run.
Democrats also are all-too-aware of New Hampshire as a proving ground for national candidates.
The state's voters "get to kick the tires of the folks who are seeking the highest office in the land," Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz told reporters.
Hillary Clinton, who won the 2008 New Hampshire primary only to lose the nomination to eventual president Barack Obama, is the presumed Democratic frontrunner.
Party sources say Clinton is staffing up her New Hampshire operation ahead of a probable campaign, WMUR reported Friday.
All major likely candidates have also made trips in recent months to Iowa, where the earliest primary caucuses are held.
Cruz visits South Carolina, site of the first-in-the-South primary, on Saturday. Bush travels there next week.
AFP
