New Hampshire is the second state to make its picks for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees. Residents will cast ballots in primary elections on Feb. 9, one week after the first presidential nominating contest in Iowa, where Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Hillary Clinton emerged victorious from the caucuses.

If the past is any indication, the results in New Hampshire will likely differ from those of Iowa, whether by winner or vote margin. The state has an independent streak, and also differs from the rest of U.S. in key demographic areas. New Hampshire, too, is close to Sen. Bernie Sanders' state of Vermont, and is expected to support the socialist Democrat to a greater degree than Iowa.

And while all the early primary states are in the business of winnowing the presidential field, New Hampshire in the past has set itself apart by spooking the front-runner and supporting a lesser-known candidate. With a crowded field on the Republican side, that type of choice could make things particularly interesting.

While we wait to see who the winners and losers will be, we're digging into the details of the second presidential nominating state to answer some questions you might have.

What's New Hampshire's Significance in the 2016 Race?

Like Iowa, New Hampshire's importance is tied to its place in the presidential nominating calendar and the media attention that comes with it, not because of the delegates it controls. In fact, the state has even fewer delegates to award than Iowa, with 23 total for Republicans and 32 on the Democratic side, including eight superdelegates who can back any candidate despite what the voters decide. But because of the media attention and campaign money that will come to the winner, a favorite that does poorly in New Hampshire may see his or her lead begin to crumble. Conversely, if a lesser candidate does better than expected, he or she may get a jolt that will help carry the campaign through the next primaries.



Again like Iowa, New Hampshire has cemented its place in presidential history with a law stipulating that the state must have the first of "similar" elections and thus causing it to move its event accordingly in order to be the first. (For those wondering, Iowa's caucuses are not considered to be a similar event.)

New Hampshire's presidential primary additionally celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. The state's related sense of tradition tied to elections, combined with its insistence that its primary be first and other states jockeying for increased early primary importance, has led to a slow and steady creep of the presidential calendar.

This was evident in both 2008 and 2012, when the Iowa and New Hampshire nominating contests were held in January. Order has been restored for now, largely due to the threat of penalties aimed at dissuading states from moving their primaries forward. The Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee both have stipulated that Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada will hold the first presidential nominating events. States that attempt to encroach on these events could have some of their delegates stripped, and thus have less influence on the presidential nominating process.

Still, as the political parties attempt to resolve any setbacks suffered from this election in 2020 – and as that same cycle continues even further down the road – the order and timing of the presidential primaries will likely continue to shift in coming campaign cycles.



How Does the Primary Work? How Is It Different Than a Caucus?

The primary works much the same as a regular election.

Unlike a caucus, which is run by state party officials with the goal of selecting delegates, a primary is run by the state itself. A primary is also less of a time commitment. Caucuses take hours, but because a primary is really just an election, it's simply a matter of going to a polling place and casting your ballot.

New Hampshire allows undeclared voters to cast ballots in either the Democratic or Republican primary. Officially, they become registered members of the party whose ballot they choose, but they can return to undeclared status before leaving a polling place. This flexibility explains in part New Hampshire's reputation for having an independent streak, as undeclared voters can fairly easily flip between parties for each election.

Although the method is different than Iowa, the end result of the New Hampshire primary will be delegates divided proportionally according to a candidate's share of the votes.

Will the Results Be the Same as in Iowa?

It's extremely unlikely that the winners in New Hampshire will mirror those of Iowa, at least on the GOP side.

In the history of the two events, a Republican non-incumbent presidential candidate has never won both. Although New Hampshire winner Mitt Romney came close in 2012, a final, belated count showed that Rick Santorum instead eked out a victory in Iowa. And with a particularly crowded Republican field this time around, it's even less likely than in the past that the states will agree on a GOP winner. As of early on Feb. 2, the winner of the Iowa Republican presidential primary, Cruz, was polling at 11.5 percent in New Hampshire – significantly behind front-runner Donald Trump and tied with Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

A divergence between the states has been make-or-break for candidates in recent presidential elections. In 2008, New Hampshire Democrats selected Hillary Clinton instead of Iowa winner Barack Obama, giving her renewed hope after Obama's upset victory when a second consecutive loss could have been devastating. New Hampshire's 2008 GOP primary also catapulted John McCain's campaign, helping the Arizona senator become the eventual Republican nominee after Mike Huckabee took home the Iowa caucus crown.

In earlier elections, New Hampshire Democrats supported eventual nominees John Kerry in 2004 and Al Gore in 2000. But for evidence of the state's independent streak, there's 1992, when Democrats selected Paul Tsongas over Bill Clinton, who became the first president to win the Oval Office without winning New Hampshire first.

On the Republican side, the state selected McCain by a nearly 20-point margin in 2000 over eventual nominee George W. Bush. In 1996, New Hampshire narrowly favored Pat Buchanan over eventual nominee Bob Dole.

With the many Republican candidates, political analysts will be looking for someone who does significantly better in New Hampshire than in Iowa, as a strong performance could propel a lower candidate forward into South Carolina and Nevada. Because of this, some candidates have chosen to forget Iowa altogether and focus on New Hampshire. Kasich, for example, has traveled much more often to New Hampshire, and is right there with Cruz for second place in the state – much better than his tied-for-seventh finish in the Iowa caucuses.



Presidential campaign trips to New Hampshire. Data as of Feb. 1, 2016. See the most recent totals on The Chase



How Does New Hampshire Compare to the U.S.?

New Hampshire is whiter, older and richer than the U.S. as a whole, according to the Census Bureau.

The state is even less diverse than Iowa: 91 percent of its residents are white, and its black population is nearly non-existent. Hispanics make up 3 percent of the population, compared with 17 percent for the U.S. as a whole. Only 2 percent of children ages 5 to 17 speak Spanish at home, compared with 16 percent of American children overall.





The median age of a New Hampshire resident is 42.5, which is 10 percent higher than the U.S. as a whole.

The median household income in the state is $66,532, about 25 percent higher than in the U.S., giving it a relatively low poverty rate. The share of New Hampshire residents with a bachelor's degree is about 20 percent higher than the overall U.S. share, as is the share of residents with a postgraduate degree. The state's share of veterans is also 20 percent higher than it is in the U.S.

How Many People Will Vote in the New Hampshire Primary?

Participation in primaries is low for most states, and is getting lower. In 2012, average voter turnout for statewide primaries was the lowest since 1972, with about 17.3 percent of eligible citizens casting primary ballots for president, governor and U.S. Senate, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.



Lindsey Cook for USN&WR; Data: Bipartisan Policy Center



Even so, New Hampshire did well that year, relatively speaking. In 2012, it saw the fourth-highest turnout – 30.6 percent – for states with both Republican and Democratic primaries.

New Hampshire only has a population of around 1.3 million, meaning just 0.4 percent of the U.S. population lives there. Yet time and time again, history has shown how a small number of Granite State residents can propel candidates all the way to the nomination. For example, McCain won New Hampshire over Romney in 2008 by about 13,000 votes – or by a margin similar to the 2014 enrollment at Yale University.

The state's small population also means candidates generally have to engage in retail politics if they want to do well there, with them or their supporters contacting voters one-on-one and attending intimate local events.



How Do Political Opinions of New Hampshire Residents Compare to Those of Other Americans? On the GOP side, the New Hampshire population is less religious than the Iowa population, and is thus likely to be less supportive of candidates favored by evangelicals and the tea party movement. In a recent poll, 79 percent of likely Republican voters in the state said they were not very religious, as opposed to 21 percent who said they were very religious. Terrorism and national security and jobs and the economy are the most important issues to GOP voters in the state, according to a recent Suffolk University poll.