After weeks of negative ads, the Florida Primary is finally over, with Mitt Romney having won by a wide margin. Can you believe it's already been three weeks since all the craziness of the New Hampshire Primary blew through the state?Here's a look at some of what has happened since Jan. 10:On Jan. 16, Jon Huntsman, who staked his campaign on winning New Hampshire, but came in third to Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, respectively, suspended his campaign just five days before the competition in South Carolina. In his statement, Huntsman said he would support Romney, saying he is the candidate "best …

Jon Huntsman, who banked his presidential hopes on New Hampshire and was optimistic in Hampton days before finishing a disappointing third in the primary, is bowing out of the GOP race, according to a New York Times report. Huntsman will endorse fellow candidate Mitt Romney, the newspaper reported. Huntsman, a former Utah governor, campaigned harder in New Hampshire than any other GOP candidate. He held close to 200 public events in the state, including several in Hampton and North Hampton. Huntsman had the support of Hampton resident Nancy Stiles, a state senator, as well as other local …

Hampton and North Hampton voters once again went with the New Hampshire current during Tuesday's presidential primary, as higher-than-anticipated crowds in each town helped Mitt Romney receive more than double the votes of his closest competitor. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, garnered 1,749 out of the 4,249 total votes cast in Hampton and 574 out of the 1,404 total votes cast in North Hampton, reflecting a similar margin of victory seen throughout the rest of the Granite State. President Barack Obama received the next highest totals, at 803 and 238 in Hampton and North Hampton…

Rick Santorum shocked the world when he finished in a virtual tie with Mitt Romney in the Jan. 3 Iowa Caucus. Today, we want to know who will surprise New Hampshire. Jon Huntsman seems to be the popular choice. The former Utah governor has focused his entire campaign in New Hampshire and has been surging in the Granite State since going toe-to-toe with Mitt Romney during Sunday's NBC's Meet the Press Debate in Concord. Currently polling in the third place, a top-two finish would certainly launch Huntsman into the national spotlight. Romney has been leading in NH polls since day one. A win …

As political pundits continue to speculate about primary results and the need for candidates to leapfrog their rivals, many local residents said they're employing a little political strategy of their own at the polls. Nearly a dozen voters who spoke to Patch said they voted for the candidate they feel has the "best chance" to win the nomination, not necessarily the candidate they want to win the nomination. "I voted for [Newt] Gingrich because I want to keep him going for a while," said Les Bihari, a registered Republican from North Hampton. "I think he has some good ideas, although I don't …

Voting times for Tuesday's 2012 Republican Party and Democratic Party presidential primaries are scattered throughout the day for various towns, so we figured we'd break down the locations throughout the Greater Hampton portion of the Seacoast area for you. Here are the times and locations for communities in the area: Hampton: Marston School, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. North Hampton: Town Hall, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Seabrook: Seabrook Community Center, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Rye: Rye Elementary School, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Hampton Falls: Hampton Falls Town Offices, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Greenland: Greenland Central School…

Since May, we've been giving you up-close-and-personal political coverage, and we've captured many moments with the candidates on film. The above image gallery showcases some of our work, although more importantly, we want it to also showcase all the images and videos you've taken of their stops! Why? Because we love photos, and we'd like this to serve as a quick refresher course for anyone looking to comb through some light reading material days before or during the Jan. 10 primary. So, do you have an offbeat photo or an image of a candidate showing a little personality? Post them and any …

He may be down, but don't count Jon Huntsman out just yet. With mere days before the New Hampshire Primary, the former Utah governor said his campaign is still going at full strength and brimming with optimism even though he received only .6 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucus, placing below a candidate that bowed out of the Republican nomination race out due to her showing. Huntsman frequently referred to himself as an underdog during a Hampton Rotary breakfast Thursday morning, and he told Hampton-North Hampton Patch that the results in Iowa show him, more than anything else, that the …

Jon Huntsman, a Republican presidential candidate, called for many things during his visit to Hampton Thursday morning, from residents' votes to one thing of which he said there isn't enough. Trust. Huntsman touched on the topic many times during a speech in front of Hampton Rotary members at the Ashworth by the Sea hotel, although a need for more "trust" was the key theme. Huntsman also called for a term limit for Congress, which he said will help increase trust and eliminate "crony capitalism." The above video showcases moments from that speech, which is captured in more detail in our live …

8:02 a.m.: We just had a one-on-one with Huntsman, talking to him about what he's taking out of his low Iowa polling and what he's going to do to sway voters to his side in New Hampshire. Story and video to come soon. The live blog is now over. 7:53 a.m.: Department of Defense must be "on this table" during spending talks, too. "We can no longer afford sacred cows," he said. Huntsman done now after answering one more question. More to come. 7:52 a.m.: First question about Medicare and Medicaid. "The only way we'll be able to deal realistically with numbers will be to begin block granting," he…

Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman will speak during a Hampton Rotary meeting at 7:15 a.m. Thursday at the Ashworth by the Sea Hotel. Huntsman, who is focusing primarily on New Hampshire in the days before the Jan. 10 primary, has already made several stops in New Hampshire. The Republican also has strong support from some local politicians, including state Sen. Nancy Stiles and Rep. Jim Waddell. Hampton-North Hampton Patch will have coverage of the meeting, which comes two days after Tuesday's Iowa caucus. Stay tuned for results from that caucus.

By Chris Muns Mitt Romney was at the Old Salt in Hampton on Saturday, Dec. 31. I attended in the hopes of asking the former governor a question.    Alas he only had time for four questions from those in attendance. Had I been able to ask him my question, it would have gone as follows:   “Good morning, Governor, my name is Chris Muns and I live here in Hampton. Thank you for coming today. I, like you, grew up in Southeastern Michigan. Both of our fathers worked in the auto industry where they each had very successful careers. I actually met your father on the street in front of the old Hudson’…

With just over a week until Granite Staters cast their ballots, we thought it would be fun and informative to reflect on how Hampton and North Hampton residents voted in the last six competitive presidential primaries. Below are several charts looking at the voting totals for each of those primaries (Democratic and Republican in 2008, Republican in 2004, Democratic and Republican in 2000, and Republican in 1996). [Editor's note: The voting totals for each Democratic candidate are based solely on the votes received through Democratic ballots, while the voting totals for each GOP candidate are …

Mitt Romney may not "blame" Barack Obama for the recession, but he does blame the president for not doing "enough" to solve America's economic problems. Romney took several jabs at the president during a stop at the Old Salt in Hampton on Saturday morning, including calling the Democrat a "footnote in history" and accusing him of avoiding the economic issues instead of facing them directly. "I think there are some people in this country who just hope that if they just close their eyes, all the challenges will go away — and they won't," he said. "We have some real problems and have some real …

John H. Sununu, the former governor of New Hampshire, was one of several political dignitaries supporting GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney Saturday in Hampton during Romney's last visit to New Hampshire until the Iowa caucus. Sununu was willing to answer a few questions about his chosen candidate after the Old Salt meet-and-greet, although the former governor abruptly walked away from an interview with Hampton-North Hampton Patch when asked about a Romney joke that has been looping on national news stations over the last day. Romney's son, Matt, told senior citizens during a stop in …

Jobs and the economy will be the main courses during a special breakfast event with Mitt Romney at the Old Salt Restaurant on Saturday, according to information released today on the GOP front-runner's blog. Romney is scheduled to eat breakfast with locals at 8:55 a.m. on New Year's Eve, days before the New Hampshire primary and mere hours before Republican opponent Jon Huntsman is scheduled to celebrate the holiday in North Hampton. Romney's visit is his first to Hampton since a stop at the Galley Hatch in July, and is his last scheduled event in New Hampshire until after the Jan. 3 Iowa …

Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman's heavy New Hampshire focus will continue this weekend, as the former Utah governor plans to celebrate New Year's Eve at a house party in North Hampton on Saturday. Huntsman's campaign staff released a statement this afternoon indicating that the candidate will speak during a private event at Daniel and Zara Silverman's Walnut Street home at 8 p.m. Saturday. Huntsman has said that his focus is all on the Granite State leading up to the Jan. 10 New Hampshire primary, and North Hampton is the only local stop planned thus far for the candidate's "…

The New Hampshire Institute of Politics hosted a presidential candidates' forum on Dec. 19 for lesser-known candidates appearing on the New Hampshire Primary ballot on Jan. 10. These candidates run the gamut, from smart and earnest to sarcastic and eccentric. What do they have in common? A desire to have their voice heard–and a belief that, in America, anyone can still grow up to run for president. To qualify for the New Hampshire Primary, a candidate must meet the standard constitutional clause requirements and pay Secretary of State Bill Gardner $1,000 cash or certified check. Appearing in …

As political pundits and experts continue to speculate about the future of Rick Perry’s presidential bid and his stagnant polling numbers, the Texas governor’s wife wanted Monday to make one point clear to New Hampshire voters. The Perrys can come back. “We are not going to drop out,” said Anita Perry. “We’ve gotten this far. We’re not going to drop out.” Anita Perry spoke in front of roughly 50 people Monday afternoon at a Seacoast Republican Women’s tea party, which was held in Rye at the home of Diane Bitter, the head of the Rye Republicans Town Committee and vice chairwoman of Granite …

There was some good news coming from Washington last month. The totally dysfunctional United States House of Representatives tried to capsize the Constitution and the economy, but they failed.  Luckily, there were members, both Democrats and Republicans, who refused to vote for the politically-motivated and deeply flawed balanced budget amendment. If this constitutional amendment were ever ratified, then we would have to drastically cut spending and raise taxes to balance a budget. Since our New Hampshire congressmen and their Republican tea party-controlled Congress are currently trying to …