Rubio, Fiorina and Sanders make N.H. candidacies official
CONCORD, New Hampshire -- Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina and Bernie Sanders arrived at New Hampshire statehouse on Thursday to become the third, fourth and fifth major presidential candidates to file paperwork to get on the New Hampshire primary ballot, a political ritual that draws hordes of media to the small state capital every four years.
"It's an honor to be here today and get on the ballot, and I'm excited about the campaign and what it means for America's future," Rubio told fans and media.
Donald Trump and Martin O'Malley were the first major Republican and Democrat to fork over the $1,000 filing fee on Wednesday. They've been running for months, of course -- but in Concord, they made it official.
Rubio arrived first Thursday and flitted in and out of the statehouse to his car through a side door, brushing through a throng of cheering supporters. He did not seem to relish the tradition, perhaps because it involved a barrage of questions from national and local press about his spotty financial history. It made for a pointed contrast with Trump the day before, who basked in the media spotlight and posed for selfies with adoring fans during a nearly two-hour appearance.
Rubio's use of a state Republican Party credit card, in addition to his liquidated retirement account and recent sale of a second home at a loss -- have turned into Trump's favorite line of attack this week. Trump told reporters that Rubio is "a disaster on his finances and on his credit cards."
Rubio responded Thursday that his credit card records, expected to be released in coming weeks, are "not a big deal."
"I find it curious that Donald Trump, the only person in this race who's filed for bankruptcy not once but four times, is attacking anyone's finances," Rubio told reporters inside Secretary of State Bill Gardner's office. "But look, we're going to continue to talk about our message--this campaign is about the finances of the American people."
Fiorina, who showed up shortly after Rubio, indulged every screaming fan and supporter with a photo, a hug, or a handshake. After finally making it into the filing room, a smiling Fiorina quickly signed her paperwork before holding up the sheet of paper to celebrate. "It's official," she exclaimed to cheers from supporters.
After her signing, Fiorina discussed her coming appearance on ABC's "The View" Friday and what she considers the double standard that conservative women face in the media, pointing to unfair questioning from reporters who charge that she is "anti-women." Florina's appearance on "The View" comes after the hosts of the show talked disparagingly of Fiorina, the only female GOP presidential candidate in the race.
"I look forward to going on 'The View' tomorrow," she told reporters. "I hope we can have a civil conversation."
Fiorina also told the press corps that questions asked of candidates by the media are things that "voters never ask me about."
"I think people make personal decisions based upon what's going on in their lives. And there's a lot going on in Americans' lives right now that is disquieting to them. It is why I am running for president," Fiorina said.
Democratic insurgent Senator Bernie Sanders' filing had the greatest potential for drama: he faced the slim possibility that, as the longest-serving independent senator in Washington, he might face a challenge getting on the Granite State ballot as a Democrat.
Although Sanders caucuses with Senate Democrats, he has never been elected to office as a Democrat, only as an independent. He has never been a member of the Democratic party and is fond of referring to himself as a "Democratic socialist." The catch for the New Hampshire Democratic primary is that candidates are required to be registered as Democrats.
So, with his lawyer and chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party by his side, Sanders handed over his filing fee, joking that "the check won't bounce," and signing his paperwork with much fanfare and little ado as a Democrat.
The anti-climactic signing, however, does not ensure that Sanders will not receive challengers to his party status going forward. As a Democratic candidate in 2008, the New Hampshire office of the secretary of state fielded challenges against then-Sen. Barack Obama questioning the authenticity of his birth certificate and birth place.
In response to a line of questioning from reporters regarding his newly official Democratic status, Sanders said the reason why he hasn't embraced running as a Democrat in the past was a longer story, but that "for this campaign right now," he's running as a Democrat.
"I intend to win this nomination, and I intend by the way to help lead a transformation of the Democratic party," Sanders said. While he embraced his underdog status against front runner Hillary Clinton, he also pointed reporters to polling that shows Sanders "more often than not" performing better than Clinton against Republican candidates "like Donald Trump."
Sanders was also asked about his lackluster retail political skills, retorting, "Don't believe everything you read in the New York Times!," referring to an article that critiqued his willingness to interact with voters and regular people on the campaign trail. He admitted that he is often in a rush, but jokingly shook a reporters hand and announced to the throng of media that he had "just kissed the baby!"
"As a retail politician I think I do pretty well," Sanders said. "One of the problems you have when you go to a state like New Hampshire, Iowa, anywhere else -- if you're going to do three or four meetings in a day, it takes time to get going so I don't necessarily spend an hour here or there. Gotta get going."
After the obligatory media sit down ended, Sanders hurried to a boisterous rally filled with hundreds of his supporters waiting for him in the courtyard of the statehouse, brushing by a man in the packed statehouse entry way who asked for his signature.