Liz Canada 0:11

Welcome to New Hampshire Has Issues, the podcast that dares to ask: who are all these candidates running for Congress? I'm your host, Liz Canada, and this week I have a bit of a treat for you. I invited on all of the Democratic candidates running for CD1, the first congressional district of New Hampshire, who had filed their campaign finance reports with the FEC when I was searching to see who to invite. I sent out the invites a few weeks ago, and if I didn't hear back, I nudged them one more time. And I'm really happy that five of the candidates said yes. So every day this week, Monday through Friday, there's going to be a mini sode with one of those candidates. And the mini sodes are going to be released in alphabetical order by their last name. So

Five CD-1 Democratic candidates this week

Liz Canada 1:00

here's your sneak peek. Monday, it'll be Carleigh Beriont. Tuesday, Sarah Chadzynski, Wednesday, Stephany Shaheen, Thursday, Maura Sullivan, and Friday, Christian Urrutia.

Why am I doing this?

Liz Canada 1:14

Okay, so why the heck did I do this? Because five episodes plus this one is a lot of work for Liz Canada. Well, in my personal and podcast life, I've had quite a few people ask me, Liz, what do you know about these candidates? Who are you gonna vote for? Because they know that I am uh I live in C D-1. And spoiler alert, I am a registered Democrat. But I didn't actually know how to answer the question because, and maybe you feel this way too, I've kind of been avoiding it for as much as I can. I've delayed it, I've punted it as much as I could, and yet here we are, a few weeks out. So think of these mini -sodes as sort of an introduction to each candidate, outside of the campaign ads and the mailers you might be getting, or the social media posts, or the social media comments, or the replies. This is an introduction to each one of these candidates in a one-on-one conversational way.

Two rules for the candidates

Liz Canada 2:15

I gave the candidates two rules in advance, because I've never done this before, so I had to figure out like what are my parameters. The first rule was that they would have three minutes for each question. And I pick three minutes because when I go to the state house and testify in a public hearing, the chair of the committee often gives me three minutes to make my entire case to say everything I need to say. So I gave that same rule to the candidates. I let them know that I would probably ask follow-up questions. I've been known to do that, and that is also what happens at the statehouse when I am finished with my testimony. Sometimes members of the committee will ask me follow-up questions. The second rule, and personally, the rule that I find more important, there's no negative talk about any of the other candidates. I mean, first of all, there's not a lot of time, right? Three minutes. But this comes down to my personal feelings about primaries. Primaries are important. Similar to what I said many, many months ago in the episode with the Democratic leader of the New Hampshire House, Alexis Simpson, about being a caucus leader, primaries are our opportunity, if we're part of a political party, to pick our team captain, who we want to represent us in the general election and in the office they are running for. And the way that I see it is that everyone is on the same team, no matter who ends up being the captain. And so I expect everyone to behave that way too. I'll just say that if you're like me and a parent of athletes, you might be familiar with rules for like little league or soccer teams, which is that the expectation of the fans is to be respectful as well. Not just the teammates to one another, not just the coaches to one another, but the fans to be respectful of each other as well. And so that's also something that I think about in primaries. How are the fans and supporters treating other candidates? So those are my two rules. Keep your answers under three minutes, keep the other candidates out of it. My takeaways and I don't mean to bias you from the beginning, but my takeaways is that each of these individuals cares a heck of a lot about New Hampshire. That comes through for me in each of the interviews. Yes, of course, they have their differences. I think that also comes across. But there are some clear themes throughout all five interviews. Similar to the episode I recently did with Cinde Warmington about running for governor, I have done almost no editing of our conversations. Very, very minimal. You're getting the conversations essentially as they happened.

Haven't registered to vote yet?

Liz Canada 4:58

The most important thing for me, though, is that you vote in the primary on Tuesday, September 8th. And so here's what you need to know. First, if you have not yet registered to vote in New Hampshire, the town and city clerks are really encouraging you to go to their office sooner before the day of to register in advance if you're able to. If you're not able to, you'll be able to register there, but it is super helpful for them to be able to prepare for how many ballots are going to be needed on the primary day. You will need to register in advance at least a week before. And this is entirely dependent on your own clerk's office. So whenever you're listening to these episodes, I promise you it's a good day to go and either register at the town clerk's office or call them and see if you still can or find out their hours where they are open. If you are not able to register in advance, that's okay. You can register at the polls. I have information in the show notes both for this little introduction and each of the candidates' mini sodes about how to find your voter registration to see if you are already registered, how to find your polling place if that's available online, and information of what you need to take with you to register to vote. I'm also including the links to the episodes with Mackenzie Taylor about voting in New Hampshire.

Registered Dem or Republican?

Liz Canada 6:19

If you are already a registered voter with a political party, the deadline to switch parties has passed. You're locked in until September 9th. That means if you're a registered Republican, you can only participate in the Republican primary on September 8th. And if you're a registered Democrat, you can only participate in the Democratic primary on September 8th.

Undeclared voter?

Liz Canada 6:42

But if you are an undeclared voter, when you get to the polls on September 8th, you will be able to declare which primary you will participate in, whether Democratic or Republican, and they will give you the appropriate ballot. And then when you're done, I think you get to switch back to undeclared if you'd

Quick recap of primary day, 9/8/26

Liz Canada 7:00

like. So to recap, as simply as I possibly can, if you have not yet registered to vote, go do that. Information in the show notes to help you understand what you need to bring and how to find your town or city clerk. If you are an undeclared, registered voter already, on the primary day, you'll be able to choose whether you want the Democratic or the Republican primary ballot. And if you are already registered with one of those two political parties, in order to participate in the primary, you have to do so in that political party. One more time so I get the information right for the listener. You know, the more you know, and then the little star in the rainbow.

Why listen if you live in CD-2?

Liz Canada 7:45

Maybe you're thinking, Liz, I don't even live in that district. Why are you doing this to me? Why are you subjecting me to CD-1 information when I have been blissfully outside of it living in CD-2? Well, here's what I know about New Hampshire. And if I know anything, I know this. When folks run for office, even if they don't win, they tend to do other things in the state. And so it's not a bad thing to get to know these folks because they obviously care enough to run for office. It's a big thing to run for office. You can go back to the episode I did with Devin Quinn about who should run for office, and the answer is actually you, you should run for office. So it's a big deal to run for office, to put yourself out there, to be in the public eye in this way. I think getting to know these individuals is not a bad idea because they're probably gonna do things in the state in the future. They already are, frankly. So no matter what happens in this primary or in this election, we'll probably see them again in

What happens if you're a registered Republican?

Liz Canada 8:43

some capacity. And if you're a registered Republican and thinking, Liz, why are you behaving like a left-leaning podcaster? Well, I trust that there are other podcasts out there having the Republican candidates on, and I hope you also do your research. I promise it's not all Democratic primaries on this podcast. I wouldn't be doing this podcast if that's what it was. And uh, I'll just say it again, Governor Ayotte, if you're listening, come on the podcast. I'd love to chat. Friends, make sure to vote on Tuesday, September 8th in the primary. Whatever your current status is, whether you're not registered, whether you're an undeclared voter, or whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, make sure to vote in the primary on Tuesday, September 8th. And then make sure to vote in the general election Tuesday, November 3rd.

Support NH Has Issues at Patreon.com/nhhasissues

Liz Canada 9:27

If you would like to support the show, this little podcast New Hampshire has issues, please visit patreon.com slash NH has issues, and you can become a monthly supporter for as little as $5 a month. Let me know what you think about these mini sodes and if you're intrigued by a candidate because of them. I always appreciate hearing from listeners. All right, I'll see you every day this week. Thank you for listening.