There is much chatter from political pundits about the Granite State ground game. Driving voters to the polls is the lifeblood of any campaign. LifeZette went into the nerve center of each of the major GOP contenders’ operations to witness first-hand how things were going.

Donald Trump
Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski provided LifeZette with a tour of Trump’s normally closed-off New Hampshire headquarters and offered an exclusive look at the campaign’s “ground game” in New Hampshire — something that has been criticized by the media.

“We have seven phone bank locations across the state, from Colebrook all the way to Manchester,” said Lewandowski. “We average about 300-350 volunteers per day, and we have hundreds more making phone calls remotely.”

The headquarters buzzed with energy as volunteers made calls. Some even sit there for 10 hours or more a day, just to be a part of the movement.

One volunteer, Charles Bruckerhoff, cut his retirement date early to be a volunteer for the Trump campaign.

“I come in and make calls for about 12 hours a day. I do it because I want to see him as the next president of the United States,” he said. “He will make America great again.”

Before his campaign rally on Tuesday night, Trump made a surprise stop to his Manchester headquarters and spoke to his volunteers. Needless to say, Bruckerhoff was excited to have met the guy he volunteers for tirelessly.

When asked about goals set by the campaign, Lewandowksi said, “Our goal is to never stop and make as many calls as possible.”

John Kasich
Kasich communications director, Emmalee Kalmbach, also gave LifeZette a tour of the candidate’s Manchester headquarters.

Volunteers were busy making phone calls, with all the phone lines buzzing. Additionally, groups of volunteers were sent out to door knock in the rain — with ponchos, of course.

“We have five field offices here in New Hampshire: Lebanon, Stratham, Nashua, Concord, and Manchester,” said Kalmbach. “Our ground game includes hundreds of volunteers from New Hampshire and some from other parts of the country. We also have over 100 town chairs who support the governor. The outreach and strength of our volunteers has been encouraging, especially as Kasich continues to do well in the polls here in New Hampshire.”

Supporter and volunteer Ron Boeckman comes in daily to make phone calls and go door knocking for Kasich.

“I’m supporting him because he would be a great president,” said Boeckman. “He is capable of bringing people together — he’s a unifier, it’s what we need in the next president.”

Chris Christie
All available phones were manned by volunteers at the Christie campaign headquarters.

Bill Stearns is dedicated to making sure Christie is the next president of the United States. Stearns, who is 73 years old, is volunteering for the sake of his grandkids’ future.

“I’m concerned about what things will be like for them,” he said.

Stearns is certain the country needs a governor at the helm.

“His executive experience is what attracted me to him,” said Stearns. “I attended a town hall in July, and after Christie attended a house party, where we were able to have a one-on-one meeting. After that, I became a big fan and have been volunteering ever since.”

Ted Cruz
The Cruz campaign headquarters was full of young people hoping to make a difference in this election. One youthful volunteer was 18-year-old Karina Rapoza.

“Ever since I was young, I’ve been interested in politics,” said Rapoza. “I’m a strong conservative, and I got into politics when Ted was elected to the Senate. I think he’s one of the best defenders of the Constitution.”

Marco Rubio
Rubio’s campaign had volunteers buzzing about their office getting ready for a handful of scheduled events and door knocking throughout the Granite State.

Rubio’s New Hampshire communications director, Michael Zona, spoke with LifeZette about his candidate’s volunteer operations.

“Our New Hampshire team and grassroots volunteers are working hard to make sure Marco Rubio’s supporters turn out for the primary,” said Zona. “Because he is the only candidate who can unite the Republican Party and defeat Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders in the general election.”

Jeb Bush
LifeZette dropped into Bush’s campaign headquarters in Manchester, where three volunteers were making phone calls.

We asked to speak with volunteers, but we were barred from entering and told to contact the communications director. He never got back to us.