Hillary Clinton Eases Back Into Candidate Mode In New Hampshire

"You gave me my voice back."

NASHUA, New Hampshire — Hillary Clinton was almost out of the Puritan Backroom, the Manchester bar where she came to meet voters with a Senate candidate here in New Hampshire, when one man's remark seemed to stop her short.

"I've got a life-sized picture of you," the patron told Clinton.

Clinton shook his hand and smiled, searching for a response.

"Well, say hello to me!"

"You scare me sometimes," the man replied.

Clinton laughed, but kept moving.

The exchange was one of many with voters here on Sunday afternoon in New Hampshire. Some were awkward. Others, with those she recognized from her last campaign, were more intimate. Most were pleasant. Almost all were quick.

But during her four-stop swing through the state, Clinton got a feel for what it'd be like to be a candidate again. Here more than any other place she's visited on the trail this year, she prioritized events that would put her in contact with voters in the state that carried her through the "darkest days" of the primary six years ago.

The visit was a fitting coda to the 45 events in 20 states she has held this fall on behalf of candidates on the ballot. She now appears closer than ever to launching her own campaign — and shifting back into candidate mode.

This was Clinton's first time back to New Hampshire since the 2008 election, when she won the state after briefly and uncharacteristically losing emotional control, and finding that voters could finally connect with her raw emotion. This year, she returned to the state, which historically holds the first primary of each presidential election, to stump for Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Gov. Maggie Hassan.

The former Secretary of State started with a rally in Nashua, then coursed up Route 3 to Manchester for a stop at the Puritan Backroom, the popular bar in the state's largest city. After that, she was over in Dover at another restaurant, meeting with volunteers. And before the day was over, she headlined an intimate fundraiser in Portsmouth for Hassan, who is poised to win a second term with ease.

The fundraiser, confirmed by a Clinton aide, was held at a private residence — her staff wouldn't say whose, or whether the people who attended had also supported Clinton in 2008. Asked why she needed a fundraiser with only two days left in the election, Hassan said, "It's a good way to build support, and I'm very appreciative that she's here. We're just continuing to get my message out."

At the rally with Hassan and Shaheen, during a brief aside about her 2008 campaign, Clinton suggested that New Hampshire was as much a memory of her victory as it was a reminder of the "grit" she had to call on after a loss.

She won the primary here after her crippling third-place finish in Iowa to Barack Obama and John Edwards.

"In 2008, during the darkest days of my campaign, you lifted my up," Clinton said. You gave me my voice back. You taught me so much about grit and determination."

"I will never forget that… I want to thank the people of New Hampshire."

The audience greeted her with equal enthusiasm. Shaheen, in a tight race for reelection this year, started off her speech with a call to the crowd.

"Are we excited to have Hillary back in New Hampshire," Shaheen shouted.

"Are we ready for Hillary," she said even louder.

Clinton, standing to Shaheen's left, smiled as cheers filled the college gymnasium. But when a chant broke out — "Hill-a-ry! Hill-a-ry!" — Clinton tried to quiet the crowd down, looking unsure of how to handle the moment with Shaheen at the lectern.

Clinton held up her hands, palms open, and mouthed, "Thank you."

Later, at her first retail stop at the Puritan Backroom, locals, state politicians, and reporters gathered near the entrance of the bar, waiting for Clinton.

Near the middle of the room was Raymond Buckley, the state party chair; Lou D'Allesandro, the oft-quoted New Hampshire senator; and Kathy Sullivan, a mainstay in state politics here. Farther back were a group of teamsters and small business owners. In a booth, a local Ready for Hillary staffer sat eating lunch. And near the bar, unassuming customers waited for the Patriots game on TVs overhead.

But by the time Clinton rolled in, everyone in the restaurant knew who was coming.

She was surrounded. Shaheen and Hassan trailed close behind, but occasionally got lost in the crush of people. Reporters tossed out questions and fans offered presents and pictures for autographs. Even D'Allesandro thrust a gift in her direction. Inside the used Lord & Taylor shopping bag he handed her way was a knitted blanket for Clinton's granddaughter. (One of his staffers made it, he said.)

As Clinton snaked her way around the Puritan, she shook hands, she hugged, and she rounded out her quick conversations by arranging for many, many pictures.

At one point, a table full of fans asked for a selfie. Clinton advised the group that a selfie "won't work" with that many people. She knelt near the table while an aide snapped a picture instead.

During her other retail stop — a meet-and-greet in Dover with about 20 Shaheen volunteers just back from knocking on doors — there were more photos.

"I thought maybe we could do a group picture of several group pictures," Clinton asked the group when she first arrived. "How does that sound? Does that sound good? Maybe we could sort of organize… organize in whatever natural way…"

"Organize!" one of the volunteers cut in, prompting cheers.

"That's right," Clinton said. "And mobilize! And then Jeanne and I can go around, and I can say thank you for everything you're doing for her."

"OK, so whatever groups you want to put yourself in..."

When Clinton made her way around the room, snapping a picture with each volunteer, she fell into a more natural rhythm with the Shaheen crew.

"Thank you for working so hard for Jeanne," she told the volunteers.

But when one man wanted to talk politics, Clinton didn't engage.

George Fleming, a 57-year-old retired Marine from Barrington, New Hampshire, approached Clinton to tell her he was fed up with that Bush family.

"We can't have another one," Fleming said. "I mean, Jeb..."

Clinton laughed but said nothing. Then an aide swept in for another picture.

Skip to footer