New Hampshire Institute of Politics

Introduction

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In 1995, Assistant Vice President of Saint Anselm College, in talks with the college’s Politics Department proposed the idea of an Institute of Politics on campus to the NH Board of Trustees. The idea was prompted by an effort to reap the benefits of New Hampshire’s tradition of being the first state to vote in primary elections. Later that year, the Board of Trustees passed the proposition.

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Backstory and Context

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In 2000, a $9 million grant from Senator and former NH governor Judd Gregg and NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) was granted towards the construction of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. Construction was finished in 2001, prompting an upsurge in candidate visitations, despite Saint Anselm College’s popularity for presidential candidates dating back since the 1950s. Since 2003, the New Hampshire Institute of Politics has hosted presidential primary debates at least once for every general election cycle. CNN, Fox News, and ABC have also visited NHIOP every general election cycle, allowing students to intern as “runners” for the news stations. Fox News even hosted live airings in 2004 and 2008 at the college while candidates visited NHIOP.

Sources

https://www.anselm.edu/new-hampshire-institute-politics

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.idealist.org/en/amp/nonprofit/07a54b3e7c5c4ccc8574ff1a1d360a2d-new-hampshire-institute-of-politics-at-saint-anselm-college-manchester