New Hampshire Democrats are energized by the Harris-Walz presidential ticket

PETERBOROUGH, N.H. — At a farmers market in southwestern New Hampshire, as shoppers picked up fresh corn, cucumbers and tomatoes, they expressed enthusiasm and relief about the new Democratic presidential ticket.

"I feel like I have hope again because I thought Biden was going to lose," said Laura Campbell, a Democrat who lives in the reliably blue town of Peterborough. She said she admires President Biden, but was worried the aging incumbent would not be able to beat former President Donald Trump, whom she called an "incompetent crook."

Earlier this week, Vice President Harris officially became the Democratic nominee for president, and tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

Now, Campbell says she's genuinely excited about the Democratic ticket.

"I think people were just so ready for something new — and I'd forgotten that I kind of liked Kamala Harris," she said. She's especially excited about Walz: "Something about him is extremely genuine."

Since Biden dropped out of the presidential race, the political universe has been turned upside down. In less than three weeks, Harris has unified the Democratic Party, picked a running mate and fired up Democrats across the country.

"I'm definitely buoyed by her candidacy, and much more enthused about voting and participating, and perhaps even canvassing for her," said Andrew Brescia, also of Peterborough.

Brescia said Harris and Walz "check a number of boxes" for him. He expects they'll build on Biden's accomplishments, which Brescia liked, even if he had genuine concerns about voting for the president this year.

"It was hard to believe that I was making a good decision by entrusting the leadership to a man who was apparently deteriorating," he said.

Haley Stewart, 32, said she is "absolutely energized" because the ticket now represents a new generation of political leadership. She said Harris, 59, and Walz, 60, are more attuned to the issues younger voters care about, including reproductive rights, education, loans, health care and the high cost of housing.

"I was waiting and hoping that some other option besides Biden would come," Stewart said. She noted she is also excited about the possibility of sending a woman to the White House.

It wasn't long ago that many Democrats in New Hampshire were on the verge of despair. Following Biden's disastrous debate performance earlier this summer, one poll found Trump ahead in the state, which hasn't voted for a Republican president since George W. Bush in 2000.

Now, three recent polls show Harris with at least a 5-point lead over Trump — evidence that the Democratic ticket is enjoying something of a honeymoon swoon.

But Chris Ager, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, predicts, "it's not going to last."

"This is a sugar-high," Ager said. "Democrats were on the brink of complete and utter disaster, and now they have a glimmer of hope."

Ager said the Harris honeymoon might last through the Democratic National Convention later this month, but suggested voters will then start to tune into the Republican case against the Harris-Walz campaign.

“People will start taking things seriously in September and remember the Kamala Harris that we all know and don't like," the Republican said, calling the vice president "ultra-left wing."

"That doesn't play well in the battleground states," Ager said.

But for now, at least, Harris has closed the gap against Trump. She has even edged ahead of him in some of the key swing states, according to the most recent polls.

Republicans will no doubt ramp up their attacks in the coming weeks, which worries Allison Kerwin, an independent voter from the town of Hancock, who was shopping at the farmers market in Peterborough.

She said she's not sure how she'll vote in November. But she's worried that the race will devolve into a "nasty, dirty dogfight."

"We don't need that — I'm not looking forward to it," she said.