Dante J. Scala teaches political science at the University of New Hampshire and is the author of two books about New Hampshire presidential politics: The Four faces of the Republican Party: The Fight for the 2016 Republican Nomination (with Henry Olsen) and Stormy Weather: The New Hampshire Primary and Presidential Politics. New Hampshire went Republican in all six elections from 1968 to 1988. Since then, it has gone Democratic in five of the last six? Historically, what happened? New Hampshire’s swing to the Democrats is the result of both internal and external dynamics. The median New Hampshire voter is moderate to conservative on economic issues, but liberal on social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. As the national Republican Party has become more Southern, more religious, and more socially conservative, New Hampshire Republicans find themselves increasingly at odds with their own party – but thanks to its first-in-the-nation presidential primary, still retain considerable leverage within the GOP. George W. Bush’s electoral performance in New Hampshire illustrates this point. In 2000, the socially conservative Texan who promised tax cuts lost
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