National Post

Ways to win and lose the New Hampshire GOP primary
New Hampshire is in the news a lot these days because Tuesday the “Live Free or Die” state will hold the first primary in the U.S. presidential sweepstakes.

And because it is the first primary, it can make or break a contender’s momentum.

In other words, New Hampshire may be small, but its influence on U.S. politics is huge.

So what will it take for Republican presidential wannabes to win this key primary? Well first off, the nominees better forget all that stuff about wining votes through new-fangled notions like social media.

To be successful in New Hampshire requires old-fashioned “retail” campaigning, namely lots of baby-kissing, hand-shaking and Town Hall-attending. Simply put, “Granite Staters”, as they call themselves, want to see candidates up close.