Article snippet: America’s longest-serving state secretary of state and four-decade New Hampshire fixture is in the political battle of his life. But the question of whether Bill Gardner can hold on to his job next week is bigger than the fate of one politician. Some say it may also open the door for a challenge to the state’s ironclad grip on the nation’s first presidential primary, which makes this one small contest worth watching. Over his 42 years in office, Gardner, 70, has earned the title “keeper of the New Hampshire primary,” for his steadfast — sometimes even cagey — efforts to ensure that the nation’s first primary is held there. New Hampshire is one of just three states where the secretary of state is elected by the Legislature. Gardner has kept that title across 10 presidential cycles. He’s a Democrat, yet never had a reputation for being partisan as much as being a diehard primary defender, which is part of why he hadn’t seen a challenger since 1984. But on Dec. 5, a newly elected New Hampshire Legislature will convene and decide whether Gardner should be given a 22nd two-year term that would grant him the right to oversee the 2020 presidential contest, a little over a year away. He’s considered the underdog. That’s because Gardner last year joined the Trump administration’s now-defunct but deeply controversial voter fraud commission, which was criticized for trying to investigate long-debunked claims of massive voter fraud as a way to restrict who could vote. Gardn... Link to the full article to read more