FEELING A CHILL IN NEW HAMPSHIREIt was a gray day in late December as John McCain For McCain's grandfather and father, see John S. McCain, Sr. and John S. McCain, Jr., respectively John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936 in Panama Canal Zone) is an American politician, war veteran, and currently the Republican Senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. headed into the ornate conference room of a Manchester-based ad agency to talk with a gathering of young New Hampshire New Hampshire, one of the New England states of the NE United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts (S), Vermont, with the Connecticut R. forming the boundary (W), the Canadian province of Quebec (NW), and Maine and a short strip of the Atlantic Ocean (E). professionals. The Arizona senator had come to discuss national security, but many in the room seemed more worried about a possible recession and the cost of living. "Domestic issues are of equal if not greater importance to me than international issues," says Manchester's Shelley Mason, who works in the IT department at Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (ĕk`sətər), at Exeter, N.H.; coeducational; chartered 1781, opened 1783 by John Phillips. It has been an influential preparatory school and has a notable school library. Heavily endowed (1931) by Edward S. . As the state's Jan. 8 primary neared--and before the Iowa caucuses--McCain was making a race of it against ex-Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney  This article or section contains information about one or more candidates in an upcoming or ongoing election.Content may change as the election approaches. . On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton headed the pack. But the real story may be the shift in New Hampshire voters' priorities just as national confidence in the economy sags. In a countrywide December survey by the Gallup Poll Gallup Poll Noun a sampling of the views of a representative cross section of the population, usually used to forecast voting [after G H Gallup, statistician] Gallup poll n → , 31% of voters cited the economy as the biggest problem facing the U.S., vs. the 16% who did so in July. Economic anxiety is rising in the Granite State, too, and the primary will be a big test of how decisive those job and income jitters jitters 'Butterflies' Psychology An episode of nervousness or anxiety that often precedes a public event; jitters is a type of performance anxiety which may affect actors in a stage production–stage fright or soloist musicians; it may respond to anxiolytics are at the polls. New Hampshire voters are fretting despite years of prosperity. Thanks to tight links with the technology and financial-service industries in Massachusetts, unemployment, at 3.4%, is below the national rate of 4.7%. Most of that benefit, however, is concentrated on the Bay State border. In upstate towns like Groveton, the yearend closing of a paper mill, with its loss of 300 jobs, hit hard. "You get something like John Edwards' 'two Americas' in New Hampshire," says Mark M. Zandi, chief economist The Chief Economist is a single position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis. It is distinguished from the other economist positions by the broader scope of responsibility encompassing the of Moody's Economy.com. MORE HOMEOWNERS IN TROUBLE New Hampshire is bracing for tougher times. "When I'm talking to business owners, a lot of people actually seem to be hurting," says Cailin Lahey, a real estate broker from Bedford. Lahey points out that the mortgage crisis hasn't hit as hard as in other states. Yet housing prices have flattened. The value of mortgages on which home-owners are a month or more behind in payments has doubled in two years, to 3.5%, ahead of the national average of 3.3%, according to Economy.com. And since 2004, foreclosures on subprime loans in the state have roughly tripled. New Hampshire voters are expressing their angst in various ways. For those likely to vote in the GOP primary, immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. , in part a proxy for economic fears, is now the No.1 concern, say recent polls. The state has few illegal immigrants. But as pollster poll·ster n. One that takes public-opinion surveys. Also called polltaker. Word History: The suffix -ster is nowadays most familiar in words like pollster, jokester, huckster, John Zogby notes, "there's often one issue that comes to symbolize 'This is what is making my world go to hell.' For Republican voters, immigration has become that issue." GOP voters, particularly in the poorer northern part of the state, also cite worries about globalization globalization Process by which the experience of everyday life, marked by the diffusion of commodities and ideas, is becoming standardized around the world. Factors that have contributed to globalization include increasingly sophisticated communications and transportation and jobs moving offshore. Economic topics are weighing on New Hampshire's Democratic voters, too, though not enough to unseat Iraq as the key issue. In a December statewide Gallup Poll, some 27% of those likely to vote in the Democratic primary cited health care and 26% cited economic conditions as top concerns. How will these forces play out? Sean Sullivan, an announcer for the Manchester Monarchs hockey team, blames high gas prices and tight household budgets for a 40% drop in attendance this season. "It's important to hear how we're going to address these challenges, but nobody is saying anything that really resonates," he says. 
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