We take you inside the world of local politicos whose endorsements are courted by some of the most powerful people in American politics.

Want to make sure NHPR continues creating projects like Stranglehold? Donate $20 today right here: www.strangleholdpodcast.org

Stranglehold is the story of how one small state got its hands around the way we pick presidents - and won’t let go. It’s a political story unlike any you've heard before. Learn more at www.strangleholdpodcast.org

Stranglehold is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

Remember when Secretary of State Bill Gardner said he'd let us interview him after he set the date of the N.H. primary? We try to hold him to his word.

Want to make sure NHPR continues creating projects like Stranglehold? Donate $20 today right here: www.strangleholdpodcast.org

Stranglehold is the story of how one small state got its hands around the way we pick presidents - and won’t let go. It’s a political story unlike any you've heard before. Learn more at www.strangleholdpodcast.org

Stranglehold is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

Is the New Hampshire primary dying? Or is it alive and well? Local politicos lead us through two very different types of candidate events to find two conflicting answers.

Want to make sure NHPR continues creating projects like Stranglehold? Donate $20 today right here: www.strangleholdpodcast.org

Stranglehold is the story of how one small state got its hands around the way we pick presidents - and won’t let go. It’s a political story unlike any you've heard before. Learn more at www.strangleholdpodcast.org

Stranglehold is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

There’s a drab office in the N.H statehouse that for every four years amounts to a pilgrimage site for would-be presidents. We’ll take you inside that office during a traffic jam of 2020 candidates.

Want to make sure NHPR continues creating projects like Stranglehold? Donate $20 today right here: www.strangleholdpodcast.org

Stranglehold is an investigation into the power and people behind the New Hampshire Primary, and a political story unlike any you've heard before.

Stranglehold is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

The New Hampshire town hall has long been a forum where normal people can have real interactions with presidential candidates. Lately it's starting to feel like those interactions are being co-opted by outside forces.

Want to make sure NHPR continues creating projects like Stranglehold? Donate $20 today right here: www.strangleholdpodcast.org

Stranglehold is the story of how one small state got its hands around the way we pick presidents - and won’t let go. It’s a political story unlike any you've heard before.

Stranglehold is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

In February 2020, voters in New Hampshire will send some presidential candidates limping out of the Granite State and maybe lift others to future victories. But do New Hampshire deserve that privilege?

Want to make sure NHPR continues creating projects like Stranglehold? Donate $20 today right here: www.strangleholdpodcast.org

Stranglehold is the story of how one small state got its hands around the way we pick presidents - and won’t let go. It’s a political story unlike any you've heard before.

Stranglehold is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

For decades, New Hampshire could stand its ground and knock down anybody that tried to steal its prized possession. But battle lines are being redrawn, and the N.H. primary can’t escape it.

Stranglehold is the story of how one small state got its hands around the way we pick presidents - and won’t let go. It’s a political story unlike any you've heard before.

Want to make sure NHPR continues creating projects like Stranglehold? Donate $20 today right here: www.strangleholdpodcast.org

Stranglehold is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

Every four years, a caravan of national news networks descends on a remote corner of New Hampshire to broadcast the first results from the first-in-the-nation primary. The press paints a picture of storybook democracy in a small town. We report a scoop that complicates that story.

But look a little closer and you’ll see, there’s more — a lot more — to the story.

Want to make sure NHPR continues creating projects like Stranglehold? Donate $20 today right here: www.strangleholdpodcast.org

Stranglehold is the story of how one small state got its hands around the way we pick presidents - and won’t let go. It’s a political story unlike any you've heard before.

Stranglehold is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

Jimmy Carter’s 1976 primary campaign gave New Hampshire one hell of a gift: the state’s best argument for why it deserves the privileged status of having the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. And it also gave a lot of politicos in this state their ticket to power.

Stranglehold is the story of how one small state got its hands around the way we pick presidents - and won’t let go. It’s a political story unlike any you've heard before.

Want to make sure NHPR continues creating projects like Stranglehold? Donate $20 today right here: www.strangleholdpodcast.org

Stranglehold is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

One man has built a reputation as "the guardian" of New Hampshire’s most sacred political institution. Some consider him an icon. Others say he’s a problem.

Stranglehold is the story of how one small state got its hands around the way we pick presidents - and won’t let go. It’s a political story unlike any you've heard before.

Want to make sure NHPR continues creating projects like Stranglehold? Donate $20 today right here: www.strangleholdpodcast.org

Stranglehold is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.