MANCHESTER – It’s cold. It’s misty. It’s Primary Day in New Hampshire. But while the streets are quiet in the late afternoon, in Castro’s Back Room on Elm Street in Manchester, the self-proclaimed Brothers of the Leaf sit in leather chairs, smoking fine cigars and shooting the breeze.

The group of four seems to sit all over the map. Two from Massachusetts, two from eastern Europe, all passionate about democracy. They do not judge, they do not push. They make fun of each other, they wear everything from a sport coat to a flannel. Today’s primary is something to spectate for them, and they’re all watching from a different seat in the theater.