In Context: Jennifer Donahue Recounts Sen. Kennedy's Enduring Ties to NH

With the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy, Jennifer Donahue, political director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, reflects on Kennedy's special connection to the state and to the New Hampshire Primary.

Kennedy was an active participant in the New Hampshire Primary, both as a candidate and as a campaigner for others. He understood the value of retail campaigning and the town hall meeting that exemplify running for president in New Hampshire.

In advance of the most recent New Hampshire primary, Kennedy surprised observers when he endorsed then-Sen.Barack Obama instead of then-Sen.Hillary Clinton. He and his family vigorously stumped for Obama in the Granite State, using the town meeting as a forum for the enthusiastic oratory he was known for.

This was the last primary campaign he influenced, but by no means the first.

On Dec. 14, 1979, Kennedy officially entered the New Hampshire primary himself, running for president against incumbent President Jimmy Carter. The results of the New Hampshire Primary in 1980 were surprisingly close, given that Kennedy was challenging a sitting President. Carter won with 47% of the vote; Kennedy was 10 points behind him with 37%.

Kennedy had gone through the 1960 presidential campaign helping his brother, John F. Kennedy, win the New Hampshire primary with 85%, after JFK announced his candidacy in New Hampshire.

During the 2004 race, Kennedy told a New Hampshire crowd at what was billed as a health-care rally that Sen. John Kerry deserved their vote because he had often toiled outside the spotlight on important issues, whether normalizing relations with Vietnam or resolving a nursing strike in Brockton, Mass.

Voters and lawmakers of both parties will miss Senator Kennedy. Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, of New Hampshire, said this today: “In the Senate, Ted and I had a remarkable working relationship, and a friendship I will always cherish. We served on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, alternating as Chairman and Ranking Member as the party majorities switched. During this time Ted was always willing to not only reach across the aisle, but had the unique ability to pull people together to get things done, with both substance and a great sense of humor. He was undoubtedly one of the single most effective senators in this history of our country."