Primary Colors

At a rally for former Vice President Joe Biden in Manchester, N.H., this week Andrew Kapadia ’20, president of the School’s Young Republicans, told The Eagle-Tribune he’s looking at both sides of the aisle in this election.

 

The interaction Kapadia and his peers experienced at the event is a unique characteristic of New Hampshire life. As home to the first-in-the-nation primary, students have the opportunity to meet nearly every candidate running for the country's highest office and can boast of meeting the future president.

 

Those looking for a more in-depth exploration of the political process can take Practical Politics, a humanities course that immerses students in the form and function of American politics through campaign field work and class discussion. During the 2016 election, students were present at the pivotal Republican debate at nearby Saint Anselm College where early Republican favorite U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (Florida) stumbled, and then-candidate President Donald Trump gained momentum.

 

Though the 2020 primary is still months away, students have already interfaced with candidates in a Democrat-heavy field. To date, they have met former U.S. Rep. John Delaney (Maryland), former Vice President Joe Biden, and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (Texas), and attended rallies for U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (New Jersey), U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (New York), and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (California).