it began to snow in laconia. but that did not stop the voters from going to the polls. it looks so easy -- a mark on a piece of paper. as simple as picking a name out of a hat or selecting fresh vegetables for dinner. but in each voter's mind, there was a feeling that his personal choice of the presidential candidate could make a difference. >> i declare the polls closed. >> now let's take a recap. narrator: while ron went to mccarthy's headquarters, she stayed in laconia and she was finding it hard to wait for the final vote count. >> 316. mccarthy is quite strong with over 50% of the vote. >> 288 votes. narrator: it was an upset. [cheers and applause] narrator: mccarthy made a surprisingly strong showing, and young people suddenly had proof that they could change the national election by working within the framework of the democratic process. ron was amazed and delighted when he found out he had scored a personal victory. he had been elected as a delegate. dotty, of course, was thrilled. ♪ narrator: jim and anne stayed home on primary night to celebrate nixon's overwh

this year he is chairman of the laconia chamber of commerce. and he owns the town's camera store. >> if you're familiar with super 8 cameras, ed, this is the one that loads with the drop-in cartridge. >> he cares deeply about the future of his country and he's concerned about the way the government spends money, including his tax money. he thinks the republican administration can do a better job. and jim thinks there is one man who can do it best. jim is a nixon man. >> there's absolutely no advantage for nixon to come and debate because as long as nixon stays in the background, says nothing, romney just digs a deeper hole and buries himself. >> with romney right now is -- >> but his wife, ann, is still considering other candidates. >> i think he's middle of the road. >> that's beside the point. >> there were others in laconia who did not show ann's pessimistic appraisal of senator mccarthy. one is ronald callahan. like jim ron is a businessman. he runs a family-owned electronics firm. he is a member of the democratic party. in 1964 ron had vot

snow in laconia. that did not stop the voters from going to the polls. , asrk on a piece of paper simple as taking out a huge -- a new hat. in each voter's mind, there was a feeling that his personal choice of the presidential candidate could make a difference. >> i declare the polls closed. now let's take a recap. >> while mccarthy headquartered in manchester, rocky stayed in laconia. she was finally -- finding it hard to wait for the final vote count. 316 mccarthy. over 50% of the vote. >> it was an upset. mccarthy made it surprisingly and young people suddenly had proof that they could change the national election by working within the framework of the democratic process. ron was amazed and delighted when he found out he had scored a personal victory. he had been elected as a delegate. dotty was thrilled. ♪ home --nd and stayed jim and anne state home to celebrate. hoped their candidate would win more victories in the future. as the campaign moves out of new hampshire and into other states, ron tra

while ron went to mccarthy headquarters in manchester, dottie stayed in laconia. and she was finding it hard to wait for the final vote count. >> 316. over 50% of the vote. >> it was an upset. mccarthy made a surprisingly strong showing, and the young people who had worked for him suddenly had proof they could influence the national election by working for change within the framework of the democratic process. ron was amazed and delighted when he found out he had scored a personal upset victory. and he'd been elected as a delegate. dottie of course was thrilled. ♪ jim and ann stayed home on primary night with their children to celebrate nixon's overwhelming victory in the republican race. and they were convinced that their candidate would win more victories in the future. as the campaign moved out of new hampshire and into other states, ron traveled to nearby vermont to work for mccarthy at that state's democratic convention, which was held instead of a primary to pick the state's delegates and presidential choices. and now mccarthy was facing competition from a n

>> jim wilson, working for nixon in laconia, was looking forward to the republican national convention. the choices at the miami beach convention were richard nixon, governor nelson rockefeller of new york, who was now working hard for the nomination, and california's governor, ronald reagan. as the republican delegates gathered in this resort city, it soon became clear that nixon was also their choice by an overwhelming mandate. >> the next president of the united states, richard nixon. and i again proudly accept that nomination for president of the united states. tonight i see the face of a child. he lives in a great city. he's black. or he's white. he's mexican, italian, polish. none of that matters. what matters, he's an american child. he sleeps the sleep of childhood and he dreams the dreams of a chi child. that child in that great city is more important than any politician's promise. he is america. i see another child tonight. he hears the train go by. at night he dreams of faraway places where he'd like to go. seems like an impossible dream. but he is helped on his journey thro