Once written off for dead, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts managed to stage one of the greatest political comebacks in New Hampshire history Tuesday night.
About six weeks ago, two opinion polls showed Kerry lagging behind former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean by 32 and 35 points. A Boston Herald headline declared “It’s a Rout.”
Kerry’s aides joked that newspaper articles about him were running on the obituary page. His closest supporters publicly criticized him for everything from long-windedness to his haggard appearance on television.
They said he seemed unhappy when talking to voters on the campaign trail.
But with a boost from his win in Iowa’s caucuses last week, Kerry revived his candidacy here. In part, he did it through long hours of campaigning, less speechmaking and a lot of help from the veterans he served with in Vietnam.
Even on Election Day, Kerry campaigned into the night, visiting several polling places, calling into drive-time radio shows, appearing on television and thanking volunteers standing in the cold.
He made a final trip to greet voters at the Beech Street School Community Center shortly before the polls closed.
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“Considering where my campaign was three weeks ago, a win here would be a huge, huge turnaround and an incredible upset,” Kerry said before learning the final results.
In the ballroom of the Center of New Hampshire Holiday Inn after the votes had been counted, an emotional Kerry pledged his love for New Hampshire, as well as Iowa, and then said, “And I hope to have the opportunity to love a lot of other states in the weeks and months ahead.”
This would not be the first time Kerry faltered on the campaign trail, regained his footing and went on to win a tough race. In his 1982 primary battle for Massachusetts lieutenant governor, the Democratic Party had endorsed state Environmental Affairs Secretary Evelyn Murphy over him at its convention. In his 1984 primary race for Senate, Kerry rapidly lost ground to U.S. Rep. James Shannon. But when Shannon questioned Kerry’s war service in the final days of the campaign, a network of Vietnam veterans came to his rescue.
And in his 1996 bid for re-election to the Senate, Kerry underestimated the strength of then-Gov. William Weld’s challenge and was forced to defend himself from charges that he was remote and out of touch with ordinary people.
Kerry was true to form in this year’s New Hampshire primary. He came in as the front-runner, plummeted in the polls as Dean caught fire and regained his focus in the final days.
As part of the turnaround, William Shaheen, Kerry’s state chairman here, said he repeatedly urged the senator not to tell voters everything he knows every time he is asked a question.
“If somebody asks you to tell him the time, then tell him the time. Don’t tell him how to make a watch,” Shaheen told Kerry on more than one occasion. “It’s just a matter of saying, when you give a one liner, you save your voice, you get to answer a lot more questions, and if someone needs a fuller explanation, you can give it later.”
Kerry aides said it took him time to shed the florid language of the Senate, where lawmakers have unlimited amounts of time to make their point at length.
“In a campaign, hand-to-hand presidential battle, you have to make your point in a very quick way through the newspapers, through the television, and it doesn’t allow you to make 30-minute speeches,” said Michael Meehan, a senior adviser.
His supporters in New Hampshire compared Kerry’s transition to the one then-Vice President Al Gore was forced to make four years ago. In danger of losing to former Sen. Bill Bradley, Gore declared himself the underdog, threw out his blue-curtained backdrops and began answering voters’ questions for hours on end.
Similarly, Kerry took his campaign to Iowa where he declared himself the underdog and held exhaustive town hall meetings with undecided voters.
“You get a greater feel for America and the people when you have to answer questions eye to eye in these town halls, on the street and in coffee shops and living rooms,” Shaheen said.
The process helped the senator connect with the voters in a way he wasn’t doing before, said Joe Keefe, a member of Kerry’s New Hampshire steering committee.
“Obviously, as a candidate he found his rhythm,” Keefe said. “His message became much more clear, and he became much more comfortable.”