Keller @ Large: A Lot At Stake For New Hampshire In Primary
BOSTON (CBS) - Today is the day when New Hampshire votes, and there's a lot more at stake than just how the state's handful of delegates are divvied up.
New Hampshire voters have the power to undercut several candidacies Tuesday. If Chris Christie and John Kasich don't do reasonably well, they might be toast. Donald Trump might limp on, but he'd be badly damaged if he dramatically underperforms his poll numbers.
And Bernie Sanders better beat Hillary Clinton decisively for obvious reasons.
But there's another thing that may be at stake – the state's longtime status as the first primary in the process.
A big victory today for both of the leading anti-establishment candidates will surely give the party establishments pause about doing it this way again four years from now.
Both parties want to compete aggressively for non-white voters; New Hampshire offers very few of those.
The Northeast is arguably the least important region of the country in the national electoral map.
There's growing interest in both parties in having regional primaries with the order rotated each election, and today's results could fuel that movement.
And what about the legend of flinty New Hampshire voters taking the measure of candidates face-to-face in a way no other primary provides?
There's still some of that, but let's face it, the New Hampshire primary hasn't been decided on that kind of contact for many years.
So New Hampshire, choose wisely today.
What you do could re-shape the future of both parties, as well as your own.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
