New Hampshire: Neither blue nor red

When it comes to political color of New Hampshire, it isn't blue, as in Democrat. Nor is it red, as in Republican. It's purple -- a mix of the two.

Conventional political thinking puts the Granite State in the blue category because of results from the 2008 election that saw it elect a Democratic sweep of candidates, from the president right on through to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House.

But that conventional thinking comes from pundits who don't know New Hampshire voters.

In the din of partisan debate, it will be the middle that decides the election. And that middle is very large, made up of undelcared voters who are not registered as Democrat or Republican.

The vast middle also includes undecided voters -- registered Republicans and Democrats who will make up their minds about a candidate when they're good and ready in the privacy of that voting booth. That Democrat might vote Republican; that Republican might vote Democrat.

The evidence is in the makeup of the state's electorate, in the makeup of the state's election laws and in makeup of the polling that precedes the upcoming mid-term elections.

In terms of the electorate, there are more undeclared voters in New Hampshire (388,220) then there are Democrats (267,725) and Republicans (266,077), according to the most recent data from the Secretary of State's office.

And New Hampshire's election laws allow undeclared voters to vote in whichever primary race they want. These voters will hold sway on the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate because that's the biggest race right now.

The purple voters will decide whether former attorney general Kelly Ayotte becomes the nominee or whether it's Bill Binnie, Jim Bender or Ovide Lamontagne. Then the undecideds will decide the race between that GOP nominee and Democrat Paul Hodes in the November final.

The newest WMUR Granite State Poll shows that 85 percent of voters haven't made up their minds about the U.S. Senate race: 19 percent say they are leaning toward a candidate, and 66 percent say they have considered some candidates, but are still trying to decide whom to support.

And to underscore the purple hue of even registered voters, consider that 58 percent of Democrats say are undecided about whom they'll support for Senate and there's only one Democrat in the race, Hodes.

Other polls from the Survey Center at the University of New Hampshire show that voters are mostly undecided or neutral about how their feelings for congressional candidates.

About the only politician who pleases enough of the vast middle is Gov. John Lynch as he maintains a favorability rating of about 60 percent.

Going forward, don't let the Democrats or Republicans tell you they're in control of the upcoming elections. It's the center and it's colored purple.