Pindell Names The NH 100

Published Jun 29 2009, 06:05 PM by David S. Bernstein

Politics Magazine (formerly Campaigns & Elections) has a new monthly feature where they're naming the 100 most important political "influencers" in each state. They start this month with New Hampshire, and naturally turn to James Pindell, who knows all there is to know about NH politics.

I compiled a similar list for my own purposes during the 2008 Presidential primary cycle. Four years earlier, someone did one for NH Democrats -- keeping track of who each Influencer endorsed. (A lot of John Kerrys.)

Pindell's results are here, and you can believe that I'm not the only one clipping and saving. Interesting to note that Dean Barker, blogger at BlueHampshire.com, makes the Top 10 Democrats. (Over Speaker Norelli? Shumaker?) Also worth noting how many of the "Influencers" were with Hillary Clinton, and how few were with Obama -- probably a factor in her salvaging that badly-needed primary win. (Notable exceptions who backed Obama include Jim Demers, Gary Hirshberg, Martha Fuller Clark, and Dick & Katrina Swett.)

Of course, it's the 50 Republicans on Pindell's list who will be of interest in the 2012 primary cycle. They can expect their phones to be busy for the next three years....