New Hampshire Independents Change the Presidential Race

To find our independents, we worked off a list of voters who had been called at random as part of the University of New Hampshire Granite State Poll.

Lara Ugolini is 40 and lives in Bedford, an affluent suburban town next to Manchester. She should have been the kind of voter that John McCain could count on. She grew up in a Southern Baptist family that always votes Republican. She supported McCain in 2000 and again in the most recent primary. But she won’t be voting for him in November.

Lara Ugolini is the Office Administrator at a realty company. (Jon Greenberg, NHPR)

CUT: He was actually more of an independent in 2000. But it’s almost like he threw his hands up in the air and said, if you can’t beat them, join them.

Ugolini thinks McCain gave up his principles in order to win the party’s backing. McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin created another problem. At first, Ugolini was impressed. But that turned to resentment. She questioned Palin’s competence after she saw her TV interviews.

CUT: I did feel like I was trying to be tricked. You know, we’ve got a woman up here. You’re a woman. You should vote for her. No. Maybe some women but not me.

There are certainly plenty of independent female voters who do like Sarah Palin and John McCain. One of them runs the office of a small church in the village of Contoocook.

CUT: The name of the church is the Countryside Community Church. We are an evangelical church. We are associated with the Conservative Baptist Association.

Donna Gnann is 64. She thinks Sarah Palin is honest and likes the way she spoke directly to people in the vice-presidential debate. She also had many good things to say about Obama’s running mate, Joe Biden. She says she votes for the person, not the party and supports New Hampshire’s centrist Democratic governor for re-election. But her choice for president is John McCain.

Donna Gnann works at the Countryside Community Church. (Jon Greenberg, NHPR)

CUT: He’s older. He’s experienced more. Obama has experienced the good life, the Reagan era. You know, he hasn’t lived in some of those bad times. Like John McCain. I’m 64 years old. I’d kind of like someone who’s lived like I have.

Gnann is a retired dental assistant and raised her family by herself. In McCain, she sees a man who understands living within your means. 66-year old Rosalind Fellbaum sees McCain very differently.

CUT: (fading up) woman-- ….nice to see you though//man -- But the chop suey was as good as ever// Thank you. Nice to see you. Bye.

Rosalind Fellbaum has run the Snack Shack for 20 years. (Jon Greenberg, NHPR)

Fellbaum runs Roz’s Snack Shack by the 13th hole at the Manchester Country Club. Her chop suey is a favorite, along with her meat loaf. She voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and again in 2004. Now, she thinks Republicans, McCain included, just represent the interests of the well to do. Business at the snack shack is off a third and her costs are up. This year, her vote goes to Barack Obama. She likes his plan to raise taxes on the wealthy.

CUT: I think he’s going to circulate the money back into the economy for the lower middle class person.// Do you think you’re going to be one of the people who benefit in that group?// I would certainly hope so because I don’t make that kind of money. Selling hot dogs is not big economy.

These three independent voters have made up their minds, but others are still torn. Colin Credle in Dover is 39. He voted for George W. Bush twice and for McCain in the primary. The historic upheavals in the economy have him stumped. In general, he doesn’t trust government intervention.

CUT: Obama tends to see government as more of a solution. And from what I see, what government has tried to do so far has made a mess of things.

Colin Credle and his family in Dover. (Jon Greenberg, NHPR)

Typically, this feeling would lead him toward McCain, whom he sees as capable, fiscally conservative but not inspiring. He wonders – are the challenges so big, they demand the quality of leadership he sees in Obama.

CUT: He’s a very vibrant candidate, I can see why he’s appealing to a lot of people. When you get a sense of our country being where it is right now, that vibrancy is very tempting.

Credle doesn’t like to be tempted. He prefers a cooler analytic approach. His dilemma is, he’s not sure those habits suit the times. Along with millions of other Americans, he will be seeing what he can glean from tonight’s debate.

For NPR News, I’m Jon Greenberg in Concord, NH.