The New Hampshire primary officially got underway shortly after midnight, early this morning, when residents in two extremely tiny towns — Dixville Notch and Hart’s Location — cast their votes.
Oddly enough, neither community has any registered Democrats, but since independents can vote in New Hampshire primaries, residents can cast ballots for the Dems.
While I fully appreciate that this doesn’t mean much, Wesley Clark won close victories in both communities.
Dixville Notch
Clark — 8 votes
Kerry — 3
Edwards — 2
Dean — 1
Lieberman — 1
Hart’s Location
Clark — 6 votes
Kerry — 5
Dean — 3
Edwards — 2
These aren’t percentages, of course, these are actual votes. The population of Dixville Notch is 33 people, only 16 of whom are eligible to vote in the Dem primary. In Hart’s Location, the population is 39 people, only 19 of whom are eligible.
Nevertheless, Clark won in both towns, due in large part to the fact that he was the only candidate to appear in both communities, ending a 10-county tour yesterday in Dixville Notch.
A sign of things to come for Clark today? Probably not — Clark himself said he’s hoping for third place — but it gives his campaign some positive early publicity to kick off primary day.