January of 1968 was not looking well for President Johnson. As the Vietnam War stalled abroad and racial riots intensified at home, his approval ratings sunk. Meanwhile, he found himself challenged in the Democratic primaries by Senator Eugene McCarthy.
So would the battle begin in the New Hampshire primary. While Johnson was confident that the contests itself was effectively meaningless, he understood the need to stop McCarthy from garnering legitimacy or momentum, requiring for him a decisive victory.
While in 1960 Johnson was known to avoid campaigning, and no contests were held at all in 1964, the President broke his earlier precedence and flew to Manchester on March 3rd, promising to "earn" his Party's nomination.
With the assistance of local Party leaders, he held multiple rallies a day, intending to catch up with McCarthy's active profile and charismatic approach. One time in Nashua, the two candidates happened to be giving speeches barely a block away from each other, and were forced to shout sometimes to be heard over one another's supporters.
On March 12th, the local Democrats went to vote. Both McCarthy and Johnson amplified their respective bases, a Johnson/Humphrey button saying "Why Quit When You're Ahead?"
Finally, the results were in: 53 percent for Johnson, 44 percent for McCarthy, 3 percent uncommitted. It was not as high as Johnson would have hoped, but it was enough to secure him the foothold he desired. Now it was onto Wisconsin, and the Johnson campaign deserved their higher hopes.