Patrick makes his case to voters in Rindge

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick was undaunted when questioned about his late arrival in the presidential primary while campaigning at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge Friday afternoon.

Patrick only announced his candidacy in November and was on a six-day bus tour of New Hampshire when he swung by Franklin Pierce for a campaign stop.

Ann Goodrich-Bazan of Winchester told Patrick she grew up in New Hampshire and was raised to take the the state’s first-in-the-nation primary status seriously by seeing and meeting as many candidates as possible.

“This has been a bit of a busy primary season for us,” she told Patrick, and in light of his late arrival in the race and in New Hampshire, she asked, “What’s your plan to be successful in this election?”

Patrick said this is how he governs, learning first from voters what their issues are. He added that people in Massachusetts still thank him for the impact he had in their lives through his policies and decisions made as governor.

Kate Fulton of Templeton, Massachusetts said afterward that Patrick has her vote. “He has tremendous charisma. In Massachusetts people just loved him,” she said.

After the event Fulton and Bazan were delighted to discover while chatting that they are both the chairs of the Democratic Committees in their towns.

Bazan said living in a state next door to Patrick’s she is familiar with his record and always loved the excitement around his elections. However, Patrick jumped into the race and showed up in the Granite State to campaign for the primary way too late for her.

“I can’t vote for him. Cause that’s throwing away a vote. He’s far too late and too low in the polls,” Bazan said.

Bazan said she and her husband have settled on Amy Klobuchar.

“My husband and I have never agreed on a presidential candidate ever,” she said, but it was important following the 2016 election when they split their vote to find common ground on a candidate. “Last go round we had Gary Johnson and Hilary Clinton signs in our yard.”

Kazan said she thinks Klobuchar will win the Rust Belt and most importantly, “I have shaken her hands three times. That’s part of the criteria. I’ve had opportunities to have conversations with her. She’s been around.”