It was the dashboard dolls that did it.

A circa-1964 set depicting candidates President Lyndon B. Johnson and Sen. Barry Goldwater put Durham attorney Susan Roman on the path of collecting political memorabilia at a young age.

The dashboard dolls were a gift from her uncle, and are on display at the Portsmouth Athenaeum’s Randall Gallery — right beneath a pair of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ famed mittens. Roman was Sanders’ New Hampshire operations director during his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns.

Her massive collection of posters, signs, buttons, toys, jewelry − and just about anything else you can think of − is a bipartisan delight.

“My collecting runs the gamut,” she said. “I am not partisan in my collecting.”

This is good news for those who visit the Portsmouth Athenaeum exhibit, “First in the Nation: New Hampshire Presidential Primaries, 1920-2020,” which runs through November.

“I’m a huge supporter of the New Hampshire primary and retaining its first-in-the-nation status,” Roman said. “We are small enough that it’s possible to meet all or almost all the candidates in person and hear their ideas directly without the filter of mass media.

“You can stand in living rooms sharing coffee or at neighborhood barbecues with someone who will become president.”

Athenaeum members Mary Jo Monusky, Ceal Anderson and Mara Witzling co-curated the exhibit.

Roman, a member of the University of New Hampshire Class of 1974, campaigned for Democrat George McGovern starting in the summer of 1971. McGovern lost in 1972 to President Richard Nixon.

That year Roman helped organize the first mass voter registration event on the University of New Hampshire campus. The 26th Amendment, which lowered the eligible voting age from 21 to 18, had been ratified in 1971.

“It was an amazing day,” Roman said of the turnout at the UNH field house.

The exhibit also features images of candidates campaigning in New Hampshire by photographers Jim Cole, Renee Giffroy, Roger Goun, Meryl Levin, and Michael Sterling. A video montage by Dennis Kleinman compiles presidential campaign slogans and songs from 1920 to 2020.

The exhibit is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 1-4 p.m.

The Portsmouth Athenaeum, 9 Market Square, is a nonprofit membership library and museum founded in 1817. The research library and Randall Gallery are open Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. For more information, call 603-431-2538 or visit portsmouthathenaeum.org.

Coming off President Joe Biden’s poor debate performance last week, former President Donald Trump surged ahead by two points in a new poll out of New Hampshire published on Monday.

The Saint Anselm College poll found 44% of New Hampshire voters said they would support Trump, compared to 42% who said Biden was their choice. Another 4% said they planned to vote for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

A similar poll conducted in December found Biden had a 10-point lead in the state. In this most recent poll, Biden is viewed favorably by 39% of respondents and unfavorably by 59%, while Trump holds a 42% favorable and 57% unfavorable rating. 

“Biden leads among voters who dislike both candidates. However, more Democratic voters are drifting toward independent candidates than their Republican counterparts,” New Hampshire Institute of Politics Director Neil Levesque said. “While 89% of Republicans are solidly backing Trump, Biden secures the support of only 82% of Democrats.”

Of those polled who watched the debate, 54% said Trump won, while just 6% said Biden won and 39% said there was no winner. The poll also found that 81% of poll respondents said the debate won’t affect their vote in November. 

Biden’s poor debate performance last week renewed concerns about whether he’ll be able to beat Trump or hold office for four more years. Biden has continued to defend his debate performance amid calls for him to drop out of the race. Notably, no Democratic lawmakers have joined those calls.

New Hampshire is considered to be “likely Democratic,” according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. In an average of statewide polling, Biden is still leading, although these averages do not factor in the most recent St. Anselm poll. 

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The last time a Republican candidate won the state of New Hampshire in a presidential election was George W. Bush in 2000. Biden won New Hampshire by seven points last cycle, earning 52.7% of the vote, compared to Trump’s 45.4%. 

The poll included the views of 1,700 registered voters from June 28-29. The margin of error is about 2.3%.