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First-in-the-Nation: A Proud New Hampshire Tradition. No state has a richer, deeper, or longer political identity and tradition than New Hampshire, home of the premier political event in the United States -- the quadrennial first-in-the-nation presidential primary. From the time of its first European settlement in the 17th century, this small state has led the way in participatory government. Today, New Hampshire holds more statewide and local elections more often than any other state in the U.S., providing easy ballot access by voter registration on election days. Traditionally, New Hampshire ranks among the states with the highest voter turnout in national elections. And New Hampshire voters have a reputation for both focusing on issues of national interest and picking winners! The links below: define and illustrate the growth of the primary system in New Hampshire and across the nation document the winners, losers and participants in New Hampshire's primary elections provide inf

Sen. Barack Obama ( news , bio , voting record ), D-Ill., has announced he filed papers today with the Federal Election Commission establishing the “Obama Exploratory Committee.” A formal announcement of his decision will be held Feb. 10 in Illinois. Complete coverage to follow. By CQ Staff Tue Jan 16, 10:36 AM ET

Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois on Tuesday announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee, an initial and informal step toward becoming a presidential candidate. Obama, who is two years into his first term in the U.S. Senate , told supporters in a statement and Webcast that he intended to make his final decision of whether to throw his hat in the ring for the 2008 presidential race on Feb. 10 after a “listening tour” to meet with voters. “Running for the presidency is a profound decision — a decision no one should make on the basis of media hype or personal ambition alone — and so before I committed myself and my family to this race, I wanted to be sure that this was right for us and, more importantly, right for the country,” Obama said. Like Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, the media long has speculated about the possibility of Obama entering the presidential race. The senator was virtually unknown before the 2004 election cycle, when fir