NH Independents unhappy with Republicans. Undeclared voters likely to lean Democratic

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Republican presidential candidates shouldn't look to New Hampshire's independent voters for a primary win, according to an informal survey of 30 undeclared voters.

Independent voters - those who have voted for both Democratic and Republican candidates in recent years - seem to be flocking to the Democratic primary. Anger over the continuing war in Iraq, frustration with government spending and the size of the deficit, and a sense of economic unease have driven many to the Democratic race, voters said.

Boscawen resident Roger Bergeron embodies the leftward drift. Since voting for Arizona Sen. John McCain in the 2000 Republican primary, Bergeron has soured on the party. "I don't have words enough to tell you how angry I am with Bush and his war," said Bergeron, who retired from the U.S. Air Force. As for McCain, who is attempting a second run for the Oval Office, "I will not vote for him now because he's aligned himself with Bush on Iraq."

Bergeron hasn't settled on a Democratic candidate. But "I can't in good conscience" vote for a Republican, he said. In New Hampshire, undeclared voters can vote in either party primary, giving them clout in both contests.

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Rob Leigh, a retired Bow resident, was a longtime registered Republican; in the 2000 and 2004 general elections, he voted for Bush. But frustration with the ongoing war and concern about global warming prompted him to relinquish his party affiliation.

Leigh, like many of the voters polled, said that he's leaning toward Democrat Barack Obama, a first-term U.S. senator from Illinois. To Leigh, Obama's relatively short Washington tenure is part of his appeal. "He's not of the establishment. He hasn't been there long enough to be completely corrupted," said Leigh, who attended Obama's speech in front of the State House last week.

"This time, it will undoubtedly be a Democrat," Milton Chapman of Bow said of his presidential primary choice. After voting for Bush in 2000, Chapman - who retired from a career in broadcasting - turned to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004.

His decision is rooted in the war in Iraq: "I think it's just draining our resources, and I think that we've just created more and more problems the longer we're there," he said. "I think it's been run right from the start by incompetent people."

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Among those voters polled who are true independents - meaning those who don't vote regularly with one party - Obama was frequently cited. They pointed to his criticism of lobbyists, his brief time in Washington, the feeling that, as Mark Hiatt of Northwood put it, "he sounds like an honest guy." But although voters expressed support for Obama, many said that they haven't completely decided how to vote.

"He seems to be the least political of all of them," said Bob Carels, a resident of the Havenwood retirement community in Concord who previously worked with computers. He's "not necessarily entrenched and beholden."

Obama has made a concerted effort to appeal to swing voters, describing himself as an agent of change, capable of transforming the ways of Washington. Despite his efforts, he has lagged behind Democrat Hillary Clinton in state opinion polls.

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Robert Todd, a resident of the Havenwood retirement community, has met several of the Republican candidates, and he came away excited by former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee ("The guy who had the best pitch, if you will, was Huckabee," Todd said).

But Todd is also impressed with Clinton: "She has the potential, with having been in the White House, to get a good staff." If the general election turns into a contest between McCain and Clinton, Todd said, he'd likely vote for McCain, in large part due to his years of experience. But if Clinton faced former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, Todd would likely side with Clinton.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/FRONTPAGE/710280339