Bevy Of Candidates To Attend NEC College Convention: FITN 2020

CONCORD, NH — With voting about a month away, New Hampshire first-in-the-nation presidential hopefuls are descending on the state in a mad dash to get to as many voters as possible. While 50 people from both political parties paid a $1,000 fee to obtain ballot access in the state, Democrats are down to about 14 major candidates — including four frontrunners and four others with the potential to win enough voters to crack the Top 5. Getting in front of as many people as possible, as well as influencing young people who perform a lot of the campaign tasks on the ground, is why many of the candidates will be in Manchester this week attending New England College's College Convention 2020.

The convention, which begins with a registration Sunday and runs through Thursday at the DoubleTree Manchester Downtown Hotel, is the sixth time NEC has sponsored the event, according to Wayne Lesperance, the vice president of Academic Affairs and political science professor at the school. Eleven candidates, including Democrats U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, former U.S. Rep. John Delaney, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Gov. Deval Patrick, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Marianne Williams, Andrew Yang, and Dr. Jill Biden, the former vice president's wife, as well as former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh and Gov. William Weld, both Republicans, are confirmed to be in attendance or appearing via video sometime during the week.

"We are thrilled by the response from campaigns, and appreciate that they view this as an outstanding opportunity to speak directly to young people who are deeply engaged in this process," Lesperance said. "The audience will be engaged and students are excited to participate."

Not unlike the Concord Monitor's recent experiment with ranked-choice voting, the event will allow conventiongoers to cast a ballot choosing three candidates. The results will be tabulated and discussed Thursday.

Along with candidate speeches and town halls, sessions include discussions about the divided state of the nation, campaign management, nuclear proliferation, the national debt, and stories from the campaign trail. The event also gives students the opportunity to earn a college credit for attending the sessions. Lesperance said the event was open to not only students but the general public — so long as they are New Hampshire voters.

For more information and a full, updated schedule with candidate speaking times and, visit necfitn.com.

Two Debates Before NH Votes

As was recently announced, there will be two more debates between the Democrats before New Hampshire voters go to the polls.

CNN and The Des Moines Register are hosting a debate at Drake University on Jan. 14 and St. Anselm College in Manchester will be the location of the Feb. 7 debate hosted by ABC News, WMUR-TV, and Apple News.

According to the Washington Post, only five candidates have qualified for the Iowa debate: Former Vice President Joe Biden, South Bend, IN Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Sanders, and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. To qualify, candidates need to hit at least 5 percent in four Democratic National Committee-approved national polls or 7 percent in two early voting state polls and have at least 225,000 unique donors.

Both Yang and Steyer have met the donor threshold but not with polls. Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not accepting donations which means he will miss that threshold.

Yang And His Gang Party In NH

Due to time constraints, I was unable to put together a second post about Andrew Yang's visit to Concord on New Year's Eve (Here's the first post, ICYMI: Andrew Yang: 'We're Going To Shock The World In February'). But the second video was completed. Here's some of what you missed.

Buttigieg's New Ad …

Is called "Recruit".

Gabbard Calls Drone Attack 'Act Of War'

The anti-war candidate and active duty representative is also calling for the United States to get out of both Iraq and Syria.

Other Chances To Meet Candidates

If you can't make any of the events at the College Convention 2020, here are some of the announced appearances around the state to meet the candidates. Click on the links for more information or to RSVP.

Bennet will be at the Fox State Forest in Hillsboro at 8:30 a.m. Monday to learn about timber sales in the state.

Weld is participating in a meet-and-greet at the law office of Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green in Manchester at 8:15 a.m. Monday. He will also be Nashua Community College at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 14 to speak about the health and growth of the economy, as part of a series of events sponsored by the Community College System of New Hampshire and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses.

Gabbard hosts a town hall at the Enfield Community Center at 6:30 p.m. Monday, a town hall at the American Legion Post in Northfield at 6 p.m. Tuesday, and a town hall event at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Yang will be back in New Hampshire for a number of events to tout his universal basic income/Freedom Dividend concept, which the campaign says will bring about $13 billion into the state annually. He hosts a town hall at To Share Brewing in Manchester at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday and a town hall at Merrimack High School at 7:30 p.m. On Thursday, he'll be in Hudson for a town hall at White Birch Catering and Banquet Hall at 8 a.m., at Durham Unitarian to speak about climate issues at 5:30 p.m., and at South Church in Portsmouth for a town hall at 7:30 p.m. The Metropolitan Coffeehouse in North Conway hosts a meet-and-greet with the candidate at 9 a.m. Friday. Yang will also be at a town hall at the Wolfeboro Town Hall at 2 p.m., at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord at 4:30 p.m. for a town hall, and a town hall at the Peterborough Town Hall at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, Yang will be in Newport Opera House at 9:30 a.m., hosting a Bedford town hall at the McKelvie Intermediate School at 1 p.m., a town hall at Hampton Academy at 3:30 p.m., and a meeting at the Dover Town Hall at 5:30 p.m. The candidate wraps up the weekend with canvasing events in Portsmouth, Nashua, and Manchester, and then a town hall at Londonderry High School at 3:30 p.m.

Steyer holds a town hall in Hanover at Jesse's Steakhouse at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, will be at Lakes Region Community College in Laconia to speak about the health and growth of the economy at 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, and at a house party on Pine Street in Concord at 6:30 p.m.

Patrick will speak at the Milford Democrats' potluck supper at the Unitarian Universalist Church at 7 p.m. Thursday, he attends a discussion about the economy at Nashua Community College at 11 a.m. Friday, and will attend a meet-and-greet on Exeter Road in Newmarket at 7 p.m. Friday.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren will be in the state on Friday hosting a town hall in Dover at 11:30 a.m. at River Mill at Dover Landing and then a climate town hall at 4 p.m. at the Hampshire Hills Athletic Club and Event Center in Milford.

Lastly, the New Hampshire Library Association is putting together a libraries' presidential forum from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Concord City Auditorium in Concord. At post time, a candidate list was not available and an email requesting a candidate attendance list from the association was not returned.

Previous #FITN2020 Coverage

• NH Dems Predict Big Primary Turnout, Unified Party To Dump Trump
• Marianne Williamson Lays Off 2020 Campaign Staff Nationwide
• Andrew Yang: 'We're Going To Shock The World In February'
• Bernie Sanders Says He'll Enact National Drinking Water Standards
• Joe Biden Questioned About Sharing 2020 Ticket With Republican
• 2020 Watch: Messy Primary Finally Meets Election Year
• The First Primary: Why New Hampshire?
• Tiny Dixville Notch May Have To Forfeit Midnight Voting
• New Hampshire DNC Debate Announced, Meet-And-Greets: FITN 2020
• New Hampshire's 2020 Primary: Sleepier Than Elections Of The Past
• New Hampshire Voting Law On Trial, Just Weeks Before Primary
• Warren's 'Boots' Are Made For Running For President
• NH Presidential Primary Date Set – With A History Lesson, Too
• Presidential Primary Candidates Return To Press Flesh: FITN 2020
• Buttigieg Surges Ahead Of Warren, Biden In Latest N.H. Poll
• Got Those New Hampshire Primary Blues Again: Distant Dome
• 50 Hopefuls File For New Hampshire's First-In-The-Nation Primary
• Deval Patrick: 'I'm Excited. I'm Humbled. I'm Fired Up'
• In Concord, Warren Says Trump Operates Outside The Law
• Bill Weld Files To Challenge Trump In New Hampshire Primary
• Biden Makes it Official in Concord, Says He Will Take on the NRA
• Mike Pence To File President Trump's Paperwork For N.H. Primary
• Peter Grote Drove From Franconia To Back Klobuchar Filing In Concord
• 99 Days Until NH's Primary And Who's Counting
• Elizabeth Warren's Manchester, N.H. Campaign HQ Broken Into
• Primary Election Chief Back In Spotlight After Near-Ouster
• With A Special Hug And Hundreds Of Friends, Mayor Pete Files For The NH Primary
• Yoga With Marianne, 50+ Educators For Biden: FITN 2020 Roundup
• Watch: Tulsi Talks Up Presidential Campaign In Bow
• Trump Critics Struggle To Raise Money For Primary Challenge
• Joe Biden In Lead, But Does Campaign Have Enthusiasm To Keep It?
• In New Hampshire, 2020 Dems Urge Voters To Not Play It Safe
• New Hampshire Primary Candidates Descend On Convention: FITN 2020
• Buttigieg, Klobuchar Are In New Hampshire This Weekend: FITN 2020
• President Trump Called Woburn Supporter He Fat-Shamed At NH Rally
• Trump's New Hampshire Struggle: Voters Feeling 'Trumpgret'
• Trump To NH Voters: 'You Have To Vote For Me'
• President Trump Rallies With Thousands Of Supporters In NH: Watch

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