Stars Stump for Candidates

DG: New Hampshire residents can expect a parade of celebrities to stop by the state between now and the January 8th primary.

Everyone from the iconic- like Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey to the- WHO’s THAT...is likely to come through.

Just this week campaigns have brought in shall we say the ‘less known’ variety.

Former ‘The Young and the Restless’ soap opera star and long-time child advocate Victoria Rowell spent two days stumping for Senator Hillary Clinton.

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Victoria Rowell: :49 I am here standing for the next presien of the US, b/c I believe she can mend the fen ce, and gain the respect of world leaders.

DG: It’s a bit odd that the campaigns believe the glitter works when people can shake hands with the candidate themselves.

Maybe that’s why only 11 folks showed up for one of Rowell’s appearances, and most of them were already Clinton supporters.
On Wednesday, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson’s campaign got only about two dozen people to come and meet Indy 500 race car legends Al and Bobby Unser.

But spokesperson Alex Goepfert says, that’s ok.

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Alex Goepfert: :09 with an event like this with the Unser’s here at the Harley Davidson in Merrimack...the goal is to just get a couple of dozen voters who haven’t heard the governor’s message and get it out there.

DG: Goepfert was hoping guys like Troy Bosso would show up.

Bosso came strictly for Al and Bobby Unser.

He had never heard Richardson’s name, he says he wasn’t even going to vote.

But the brothers got his attention.

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Troy Bosso: 1:52...of their stature and their personality I know of them myself through the years of watching them...(please make sure to remove the ‘so’ here)...that’s why I am going to have to look into who Ray Richardson is...Bill...I am sorry Bill Richardson.

DG: Bosso has had a hard time finding a candidate he likes, so this endorsement makes all the difference.

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Troy Bosso: 10:53 ...if these guys asked me to jump off a bridge I probably wouldn’t guess if there was water or pavement down there, I would just jump.

DG: New Hampshire state Senator Bob Clegg says there’s more to star surrogates than blind loyalty.

Take, he says, the so-called Chuck and Huck television ad that features former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and B-list actor Chuck Norris.

Sfx: Chuck and Huck ad

DG: Clegg- who is backing Huckabee- says something subtle is happening...the known stars help brand the less well known politicians.

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Bob Clegg: 9:06 to me Chuck Norris is a married guy who shovels his own driveway, he cuts his own wood. He’s a regular guy.

DG: Even if you’ve never heard of Huckabee, the campaign hopes that some of Chuck Norris rubs off on him.

Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report agrees stars can brand candidates, but he says not always in a positive way.

He points to this week’s flap over Bill Clinton’s controversial claim that he’s opposed the Iraq War from the beginning.

Stuart Rothenberg:...Suddenly the candidate has to defend himself or herself from what the celebrity endorse has said, and it’s a difficult situation.

DG: After tracking campaigns and elections for nearly 20 years, Rothenberg doesn’t buy that stars can swing an election.

But he understands why campaigns use them in the final weeks of a race.

Stuart Rothenberg: 8:57 ...it’s about getting a story in your local newspaper, getting some extra air-time on Inside Edition, one of the national celebrity shows, that wouldn’t normally cover politics, but will cover a celebrity.

DG: But even the skeptical Rothenberg admits Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of Barack Obama could be different.

Few people in the country are considered as influential.

Heading into the Democratic primary, some political observers think she’s the X-factor.

But for 26 year old politically active Lindsey Hansen Oprah’s appearance is more about the celebrity factor.

Lindsey Hansen: It’s Oprah. I mean of course I want to go. Especially with big names like Oprah, I think those are people you want to see b/c we are from NH and we don’t always get these big and important people coming to our state. And in big and important I mean that in the Hollywood sense. But is it going to make me vote one way or another, absolutely not.

DG: As far as the Obama campaign is concerned, Hansen’s one more voter hearing the candidate’s message.

And with the primary coming soon, that’s good enough for them.

For NHPR News, I’m DG.