The first of 2020's official presidential preference polls to be conducted by adults happens here in New Hampshire (N.H.) on Tuesday.  This short essay describes two micro-polls conducted Thursday.

I live in southeastern N.H., the Exeter area, which is fairly blue like the adjacent state of Taxachusetts.  Thursday was errand day: a stop at a local business and then groceries at a local supermarket.  As I drove, I counted yard signs.  One each for Bernie, Joe, Tulsi, and Trump.  No Amy, no Yang.  Two for Warren.  And seven for Mayor Pete, the kid from Indiana who shows a modicum of sense.

Yard signs have always been common in this part of the state.  Not so this year.  Are the signs another victim of the ubiquitous smartphone?  Or are they simply an indication of lack of Democrat interest?  I suspect the latter; we'll know by Wednesday.

The other micro-poll explores a different audience, the Republicans.  I've been wearing a bright red MAGA (Make America Great Again) hat since early December.  I started with some trepidation because of news reports of MAGA hats drawing extreme, even violent responses.  I've received nothing but positive reactions.  The most frequent is a simple "I like your hat!"  A couple have mentioned concern over a public display of support for Trump, the same concern I felt.  One young lady I met had tickets to the Trump Rally on Monday; she was thrilled!

Over the past two months, I've had thirty or forty responses to my MAGA hat — young and old, male and female, a good mixture, and all enthusiastic.  I sense a level of support not captured by the polls or the experts.  We'll find out in November.

Mike Johnson is a retired rocket scientist and a political junkie.  E-mail mnosnhoj@comcast.net.