Abstract

Despite the rise of technology and indirect tactics that reach a wide audience, grassroots organization and direct voter contact has significant impact on the outcome of the nomination process and voter turn-out data. Emphasis that was once placed on national conventions is now placed on Iowa and New Hampshire, which set crucial precedents for the remainder of the election cycle and disproportionately impact presidential nomination through sequential selection processes. The tactics used in these first contests have been difficult to quantify; retail politics connect voters to candidates in the most personal way possible – through direct voter contact. This study examines the historical background of the primaries before and after rule changes of the 1960s as well as Iowa and New Hampshire’s rise to national prominence. Through analysis of empirical data and experimental research, the degree that retail politics affect the remainder of the election season and the relationship between direct voter contact and voting behavior is explored. Ronald Reagan (1980), Gary Hart (1984), Howard Dean (2004), and Barack Obama’s (2008) early primary campaigns are analyzed and the media’s role within the primaries is addressed. This study finds that the effects of direct voter contact are complex: traditional tactics, like canvassing, are still much more effective than new media approaches. Direct contact encourages voter participation and has a positive, reciprocal relationship on voting behavior.