Democrats press advantage in N.H.

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Democratic presidential candidates are drawing bigger crowds, more donors, and more energy from the New Hampshire electorate than Republican hopefuls are, a sign to officials in both parties of a lack of enthusiasm for the current GOP field and a tired state Republican Party still reeling from a historic defeat in November.

New Hampshire Republicans, who lost control of both chambers of the state Legislature and both US House seats last fall, are showing only moderate interest in the 10 GOP presidential candidates who have trooped to their state.

Democratic candidates for the 2008 nomination, meanwhile, have had to issue tickets to campaign events to accommodate large crowds, and are already conducting statewide canvassing efforts usually unheard of at this early stage of the campaign. Average donations to Democratic contenders from New Hampshire residents are also higher and more numerous, according to campaign finance records.

"The enthusiasm is definitely on the Democrats' side, still. I don't think there has been any change in the environment up here since the election last year," said former US representative Charles Bass, a Republican who lost his seat in the Democratic wave in November.

Republican activists and independent analysts note that early interest does not always translate into votes. Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, for example, are attracting large audiences in part because of the curiosity the state electorate has for celebrity candidates, noted Dean Spiliotes, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College in Manchester.

But Democratic campaigns are reporting unprecedented turnouts at events at this stage of the campaign, as party activists seek to build on the gains they made last year.

Obama drew a crowd of more than 5,000 for a rally at Dartmouth College on Monday, a day after 1,200 people attended a standing-room-only meeting in a high school gym in Littleton, according to local news accounts.

"I could feel in '06 a tremendous momentum building," said US Representative Paul Hodes, Democrat of New Hampshire. "Now, there's a sense of historic opportunity" that is bringing hordes of people to Democratic events, he said.

Instead of struggling to attract voters to their events, both Clinton and Obama have had to actively limit attendance for certain meet-and-greet sessions, spokesmen for the two campaigns said.

The Democratic supporters appear to be more motivated than their GOP counterparts, judging from crowd turnouts and polling.

Obama's first visit to New Hampshire in December -- before he even announced his candidacy for the presidency -- attracted a sell-out crowd of 1,500 in Manchester, and a standing-room-only crowd in Portsmouth, where he signed copies of his new book.

Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, meanwhile, drew only a moderate response in New Hampshire when he made his announcement in April. McCain's crowd of 350 was also smaller than the 500 attracted by former senator John Edwards when the North Carolina Democrat made his first trip to the Granite State after announcing his candidacy for president. Edwards is running behind both Clinton and Obama in most polls.

Clinton drew a crowd of 1,200 when she spoke at Dover High School earlier this year, while McCain attracted just 125 voters at a barbecue in the same town.

In terms of turnout at town-meeting-style gatherings, Obama bested Republicans Rudolph Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. The Illinois Democrat attracted 3,000 at the University of New Hampshire, while Giuliani drew 200 for his gathering at New England College in Henniker, and Romney had 300 people at his event in Derry.

On fund-raising, Democrats are also drawing higher average donations from a higher number of donors in New Hampshire. While the Granite State tends to be a place where candidates spend money -- not raise it -- Democrats still have a revenue advantage.

The eight Democratic contenders collected an average of $22,224 from a total of 193 donors in New Hampshire during the first three months of the year, according to statistics culled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. The 10 Republican candidates, meanwhile, received an average of $20,028 from 144 contributors, and Romney, from a neighboring state, accounted for well over half of the GOP take.

Polling by the University of New Hampshire also indicates that Democrats are more excited about the race, with 47 percent saying they are "extremely interested" in the primary, compared with 25 percent of Republican voters, said Andrew Smith, director of the Survey Center at UNH.

The numbers could add up to trouble for Republicans in the general election, Smith said, since low GOP turnout last year contributed to a Democratic takeover of the state Legislature as well as the defeat of Bass and his fellow GOP congressman, Jeb Bradley.

Democrats made up 43 percent of the people who went to the polls last year in New Hampshire, compared with 33 percent in 2004, he said.

The GOP, meanwhile, dived from 41 percent of the electorate in 2004 to 31 percent in 2006.

"They're not happy. They're not enthusiastic. It's a difficult task" to reenergize GOP voters in New Hampshire, Smith said. Analysts say the Republican base is dissatisfied with the current crop of Republican candidates, but Smith said the war in Iraq is also continuing to pump up Democratic activity while suppressing Republican energy.

Bass said the Republican Party needs to answer Americans' demand for a new direction for the country. "The Republican candidates are trying to be as much alike as possible, and that doesn't lead to much excitement," the former congressman said. "They're basically preaching 'We Shall Continue.' 'We Shall Change' is what excites people."

New Hampshire state Representative Fran Wendelboe said fellow Republicans need to unite around a presidential candidate and fight to take back majorities in the state Legislature and Congress, no matter who is nominated.

"It's time for us to stay engaged, not to take our ball and go home," Wendelboe said. "Even if we're not absolutely thrilled with some of the Republican nominees, it's important we have a Republican majority."