Luke sends an audio postcard from New Hampshire

Listen to Audio postcard from New Hampshire: Retail politics

People say the reason New Hampshire gets to have the first primary and all the attention that comes with it is because of something called retail politics meaning the state is actually small enough that the candidates can actually walk up to most residents, which is actually what happened to 86-year-old Pat Carver on Saturday as she was eating her breakfast at the Windmill diner and seemingly out of nowhere Texas congressman Ron Paul emerged.

Luke talks to a voter at the Windmill Restaurant during a visit by Ron Paul.

“I didn’t know he was here,” said Carver. “He did come across that much on television, but in person I thought he was very nice.”

If Ron Paul’s event was supposed to seem folksy and informal, Newt Gingrich’s get together about an hour away was pretty much the opposite.

Gingrich stood on the stage at a military museum in front of a giant tank. He practically had to duck his head to avoid bumping into the barrel.

Gingrich looks more cherubic than you might think in real life, and let’s pause here for a moment to mention that most of these guys look real different in real-life than they do on TV.

Ron Paul doesn’t seem as curmudgeonly. Newt Gingrich is actually more charismatic than you would expect. Rick Santorum, he’s not as uptight looking. Then there’s Mitt Romney, although let’s be honest the guy is a total dreamboat, in real life, and on TV.

Mitt Romney rallies his supporters and tries to sway undecided voters at the Rochester Opera House in Rochester, NH.

Folks in New Hampshire feel like they know Romney from his days running Massachusetts which is just to the south. But there’s another former governor from all the way out in Utah, John Huntsman, who’s been working really, super hard to up his name recognition.

Huntsman has pretty much bet his entire campaign on New Hampshire. He spent all of his time and money here. He’s been showing up at all kinds of places including house parties, like the one he came to at Jason and Heidi Kohl’s house on Saturday night.

“We were very excited, very honored,” said Jason Kohl. “It’s a little intimidating.”

Jason said he had to talk his wife into it, but that it was totally worth it, if it helps Huntsman.