Politic's is local in New Hampshire's primary.

• Author: Belgard, Katie
• Position: Voices - Presidential election primaries

Every four years, New Hampshire gets a bounce in its step when primary season rolls arotmd. Since 1952, New Hampshire's primary has been the first in the presidential election season. This status gives our very small state a lot of political clout---especially since the New Hampshire primary has a history of successfully predicting the election's outcome. This past summer, I dove into the primary process by working on Senator John Kerry's campaign.

A lot of what I do for the campaign is making phone calls and knocking on doors to collect information and reach out to the voters. When I call, sometimes I ask whom they plan to support or what issues they care about most.

Actually, making these kinds of calls is my least favorite thing to do: Sometimes I call people during dinner and they get pretty upset. I keep at it, though, because every so often I convince someone to support Kerry.

Going door to door was intimidating at first, but now I really enjoy it. I introduce myself and explain why I'm supporting Kerry. Then I try to engage whoever answers in a conversation, respond to any questions they have and find out who they're supporting. Some people are just excited to see a young person involved. Some have talked my ear off! The worst, though, is when someone slams the door in my face. (It's only happened a few times.)

New Hampshire voters are different because they know how...