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CNN Live At Daybreak
Race Heats up in New Hampshire With Voting 24 Hours Away
Aired January 26, 2004 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Temperatures are near zero this morning in New Hampshire. But with 24 hours until the polls open in most of the state, the Democratic primary race has never been hotter.
CNN's Bob Franken joins us on the telephone from Manchester.
Good morning to you -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, actually, I have to tell you, we've moved north. We're in Hanover, New Hampshire.
WHITFIELD: Oh, OK.
FRANKEN: Yes, we thought we'd go back to college...
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: How are things looking there?
FRANKEN: ... have good enough SATs. But things are looking, as you pointed out, very hot right now as far as the political race is concerned.
What's interesting is not so much what's going on at the top between John Kerry and Howard Dean. That seems for the moment to be pretty much settled, although, of course, this is a very unsettled situation.
But there are in several polls a real tightening of the race between the three, four and five. That would be Edwards and Lieberman and Clark. And they've bunched up, and one of them is going to come away with some credibility here, and the others are going to have some explaining to do, probably after they leave New Hampshire.
WHITFIELD: They've been working that state crisscrossing. And as you described over the weekend, all they've got to do is, you know, put one foot in front of the other, and they've covered the state pretty much. Many of these candidates have gone door to door. Has that made a difference, particularly for the one-third of the voters who are undecided?
FRANKEN: Well, it could. This is what's so unique about this state. No. 1, it is small enough that the politics here are what they call very (UNINTELLIGIBLE). One-on-one and knocking -- that kind of thing matters.
The other thing is, as you also just pointed out, is the fact that there is such a large undecided vote, not only the Independents. There is a huge (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of Independents here who can register at the last minute to vote in the primary. But beyond that, so many people have said they've not made up their minds. So, it could change everything.
And as a matter of fact, the history of New Hampshire is that the polls never really quite reflect things. So, you can't even be sure that John Kerry has got such a runaway lead right now until we actually see the results.
WHITFIELD: Wow! And I understand there is a midnight vote. What's that all about? Who gets to do that?
FRANKEN: Dixville Notch. Dixville Notch. Every four years, Dixville Notch gains prominence in the northern part of the state. It's in the middle of nowhere, and I mean the middle of nowhere. I mean, forget about cellular service. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure they have telephone service up there.
WHITFIELD: Oh no!
FRANKEN: (AUDIO GAP) that it is way in the middle of nowhere, but every four years it has its 15 minutes, and that is when the people take the first vote in New Hampshire. They come out, and then I think what they do is they go back and hibernate for four years.
WHITFIELD: All right, Bob Franken, thanks very much from Hanover, New Hampshire.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired January 26, 2004 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Temperatures are near zero this morning in New Hampshire. But with 24 hours until the polls open in most of the state, the Democratic primary race has never been hotter.
CNN's Bob Franken joins us on the telephone from Manchester.
Good morning to you -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, actually, I have to tell you, we've moved north. We're in Hanover, New Hampshire.
WHITFIELD: Oh, OK.
FRANKEN: Yes, we thought we'd go back to college...
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: How are things looking there?
FRANKEN: ... have good enough SATs. But things are looking, as you pointed out, very hot right now as far as the political race is concerned.
What's interesting is not so much what's going on at the top between John Kerry and Howard Dean. That seems for the moment to be pretty much settled, although, of course, this is a very unsettled situation.
But there are in several polls a real tightening of the race between the three, four and five. That would be Edwards and Lieberman and Clark. And they've bunched up, and one of them is going to come away with some credibility here, and the others are going to have some explaining to do, probably after they leave New Hampshire.
WHITFIELD: They've been working that state crisscrossing. And as you described over the weekend, all they've got to do is, you know, put one foot in front of the other, and they've covered the state pretty much. Many of these candidates have gone door to door. Has that made a difference, particularly for the one-third of the voters who are undecided?
FRANKEN: Well, it could. This is what's so unique about this state. No. 1, it is small enough that the politics here are what they call very (UNINTELLIGIBLE). One-on-one and knocking -- that kind of thing matters.
The other thing is, as you also just pointed out, is the fact that there is such a large undecided vote, not only the Independents. There is a huge (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of Independents here who can register at the last minute to vote in the primary. But beyond that, so many people have said they've not made up their minds. So, it could change everything.
And as a matter of fact, the history of New Hampshire is that the polls never really quite reflect things. So, you can't even be sure that John Kerry has got such a runaway lead right now until we actually see the results.
WHITFIELD: Wow! And I understand there is a midnight vote. What's that all about? Who gets to do that?
FRANKEN: Dixville Notch. Dixville Notch. Every four years, Dixville Notch gains prominence in the northern part of the state. It's in the middle of nowhere, and I mean the middle of nowhere. I mean, forget about cellular service. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure they have telephone service up there.
WHITFIELD: Oh no!
FRANKEN: (AUDIO GAP) that it is way in the middle of nowhere, but every four years it has its 15 minutes, and that is when the people take the first vote in New Hampshire. They come out, and then I think what they do is they go back and hibernate for four years.
WHITFIELD: All right, Bob Franken, thanks very much from Hanover, New Hampshire.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
