By Rachel Kapochunas, CQ Staff

Amid the flag-waving and clapping on the floor of Invesco Field on Thursday, there sat in two small rows the small delegation from New Hampshire, possibly best known as the state that helped put John McCain on the path to the Republican nomination.

But the small, close-knit contingency of New Hampshire Democrats wants to change that. In a region where retail politics still prevails, they want to be the state that puts Barack Obama into the White House.

Freshman Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter of the state’s 2nd District says that while voters in her home state “all respect and thank [ John McCain ] for his service,” she doesn’t believe McCain’s message and record resonate with state voters. Shea-Porter noted she is a military spouse.

“He’s had to align himself with the right wing of the party and most of us are centrists,” Shea-Porter said.

The congresswoman said she believes Obama carries a stronger message on assisting the middle class, an issue on which she has campaigned. “We’re tied together in our vision,” Shea-Porter said.

Democratic state Sen. Lou D’Allesandro said his party successfully increased Democratic registration in the state, especially among younger voters, but added that the challenge for November is sustaining support for their party and getting younger voters to show up at the polls.

“We need to double our efforts from one end of the ticket on down,” said delegate Joanne Dowdell of Portsmouth. “We need to reach out to the Republicans leaning . . . We need to move that bar just a little bit.”

CQ Politics rates the presidential race in New Hampshire as No Clear Favorite, our most competitive category.