New Hampshire voters assess GOP presidential hopefuls

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A trio of televised events in the past week corralled the large and unruly field of Republican presidential hopefuls but brought little clarity to a cluttered field, even in a state that for months has been lavished with attention from candidates.

For many voters, Monday’s forum in New Hampshire and Thursday’s two debates in Ohio offered the first chance to see the candidates side by side, although Fox News relegated seven candidates to an early-evening show and limited participation in its prime-time debate to 10 candidates. Among them were five former or current governors, a retired neurosurgeon, three first-term senators and a billionaire businessman who kicked things off by refusing to pledge his support to the eventual Republican nominee.

In New Hampshire, which will hold the first primaries in 2016, The Associated Press is following a group of Republican, Democratic and independent voters as they assess the candidates and make up their minds. Here’s what some of them had to say after this week’s events:

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‘JUST NOISE’

Andrew Hardister, an independent from Concord, watched the debate to help narrow which candidates he’d like to see in person. He came in with a favorable opinion of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, both of whom he’s already seen, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. After, he added Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to the list, citing his “articulate” and “thoughtful” responses Thursday night.

As for the rest?

“Everyone else is just noise to me at this point.”

Hardister, 45, looks at “competence and resume” when selecting a candidate.

“If we were to go to the polls this instant, I would probably vote for Bush,” he said. “But if I found out the next day Kasich won, I’d be equally happy.”

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BOXES UNCHECKED

Republican Jason McKinney, who describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal, has little hope he’ll find exactly what he’s looking for among the 17 candidates.

“I feel like I’m going to pick the one I dislike the least,” said McKinney, 37, who lives in Manchester and works for a financial services firm. “Unless I’m really missing something — and I do need to roll up my sleeves and find out more — no one checks off a ton of boxes for me.”

McKinney said he “wants to like” Bush, but found his debate performance mediocre. He thinks Rubio and Christie performed well, but fears Christie missed his chance in 2012. Though he didn’t watch the earlier debate, the news coverage he’s seen of Fiorina left him intrigued.

“There’s certainly five or six I could live with and could get behind, but can I see myself putting yard signs all over or standing on a street corner for them?” he said. “No.”

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LITTLE SOUNDBITES

Michelle McFadden, a nurse from Manchester, isn’t ruling anyone out.

McFadden, 52, an independent who is likely to vote in the GOP primary, left the debate unimpressed by Rubio and said she felt some of his answers, along with those of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz were “forced.” Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who sparred with Donald Trump and Christie, came off as a “petulant child,” McFadden said. As for Trump, she liked his honesty in refusing to pledge support for the nominee and said he often says what she is thinking.

“It was hard because there were so many of them that you didn’t get a lot of in-depth answers, so you’re judging from these little soundbites,” she said.

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NO THANKS, TRUMP

Not everyone was impressed by Trump.

“My own takeaway is that I still don’t like Donald Trump,” said Bob Decolfmacker, a Republican from Dover.

Decolfmacker, 62, is a Bush supporter for now, but was impressed by Kasich’s defense of his decision to expand Medicaid and what he called Rubio’s articulate answers.

“I think he held his own,” he said of Rubio. “I saw him as a little bit more of a serious candidate.”

Decolfmacker also owns a house in Florida. He’s been impressed with Bush’s record there but thought Bush was overly cautious in the debate. He wants to hear more from former technology executive Carly Fiorina, who didn’t make the cut for the prime-time debate.

“We’re kind of already hoping for a Bush-Fiorina ticket,” he joked.

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MORE DETAILS, PLEASE

Peter Whittlesey, a lawyer from Concord, didn’t hear enough specifics from anyone to be impressed. Whittlesey’s top issue is economic growth, and he hopes to hear specific plans on how candidates will jumpstart the economy.

“If they’re looking to separate themselves from the field, they’re going to have to do so by taking actual policy standpoints,” he said.

Whittlesey said he was impressed by Rubio’s debating skills, but isn’t any more likely to vote for him than he had been.

But, he said, he’s now less likely to vote for Paul. He had been previously impressed by Paul, but didn’t think the freshman senator did enough on the debate stage to stand out.

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NOT TUNING IN, YET

Sean Caron, a 36-year-old insurance agent from Brentwood, didn’t watch either Monday’s forum or Thursday’s debates, but he doesn’t think he missed anything useful. An independent who usually votes Republican, he’s waiting until “the cage gets rattled around” a bit more and clearer frontrunners emerge.

“Part of the game is … who’s going to be able to generate enough campaign funds to be a viable candidate down the road?” he said. “So it’s kind of tough to pay attention too early, but at the same time, it’s kind of entertaining, with Trump, to see what’s going to happen.”

So far, Caron likes what he’s heard from Rubio, Bush and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. He’s looking for a president who can relate to working-class Americans and encourage job growth, while also tackling tough problems like race relations.

“What is the next president going to do to bring the country together?” he said. “I just want to find that candidate that’s going to stand out and is going to lead the country, because I really don’t think we have that today.”