Dal Lamagna, a Democrat from Washington state, takes a break from campaigning in Londonderry, N.H.

LaMagna set out personally to tell 20,000 Granite Staters why troops should be brought home now from Iraq. He has struggled to reach voters at county fairs, Rotary clubs, churches, and schools. "You can't meet 20,000 people when you're standing in front of a Dunkin' Donuts or movie theater," he says.