Outside the Beltway

Obama Wins Dixville Notch

James Joyner · Tuesday, November 4, 2008 · 3 comments

One of the bizarre rituals in American presidential politics is that the hamlet of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire votes at midnight and announces its results before most of us wake up.  For the first time in four decades, they voted Democrat.

Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, is the first in the nation to vote in the primaries and Election Day.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama emerged victorious in the first election returns of the 2008 presidential race, winning 15 of 21 votes cast in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.

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The result in Dixville Notch is hardly a reliable bellwether for the eventual winner of the White House or even the result statewide.  Though New Hampshire is a perennial swing state, Dixville Notch — until now — had consistently leaned Republican. The last Democrat it picked was Hubert Humphrey over Richard Nixon in 1968.

President Bush won the town in a landslide in the last two elections: He captured 73 percent of the vote in 2004 (19 residents picked Bush while six preferred Sen. John Kerry), and secured 80 percent of the vote in 2000 (21 votes for Bush, five votes for Al Gore.)

But villagers expected the results to be close this year given Democrats now outnumber Republicans there.

This is somewhat less significant than the yearly vigil to see whether Puxatawney Phil sees his shadow but amusing nonetheless.