EXETER, N.H. — After all but ignoring nearly every first-in-the-nation primary tradition, Donald Trump on Thursday offered a nod toward the state’s cherished political rites: he started campaigning New Hampshire-style.
Trump suddenly loaded his Thursday schedule with a more traditional retail campaign itinerary, meeting with small business owners and visiting a Manchester police station. He opened his campaign headquarters to select reporters, participated in a town hall meeting organized by CNN, and added a town hall at the Londonderry Lions Club to his Friday schedule.
Polling suggests that Trump has reason to change his tack: A CNN/WMUR poll of likely New Hampshire primary voters released Thursday showed Senator Marco Rubio of Florida gaining on Trump and taking second place, even as Trump’s numbers held steady.
In a nod to the most storied Republican of them all, Trump stood Thursday afternoon in the same spot Abraham Lincoln once occupied at Exeter Town Hall.
“Could we have had a larger venue then that? There was something nice about it. It was historic. There was a good vibe. I feel good about it,’’ Trump said later during a brief exchange with a few reporters at his Manchester campaign headquarters, which is typically off limits to media.
Trump, his voice hoarser than usual, unspooled his usual fare for his Exeter audience, discussing his hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue and the loss of American jobs overseas. He singled out New Hampshire state representative Al Baldasaro as “the king of vets.’’
“Al, you’re the greatest. Al? Do the vets like Trump?’’ Trump said.
Trump then stopped by a property management company in a wooded office park a few miles down the road. Standing just inside the lobby, Trump spoke for about 10 minutes to a crowd of about 75 people who stood snapping pictures with their cellphones.
“We are going to win here, OK?’’ Trump declared.
From there, he did what a traditional politician would: spend some time thanking volunteers at his campaign headquarters in Manchester, one of four offices his campaign has in the state.
In the main room, about 40 volunteers made phone calls on his behalf. Many of those callers were people who have temporarily moved to Manchester from out of state to help with the effort.
“This is the most amazing thing I have ever done in my life,’’ said James Radcliffe, 22, from Westport, Conn., who said he had been in New Hampshire for three weeks.
At the Manchester police station, Trump said he was starting a tradition by signing a brick on the outside wall with a permanent marker. He was formally introduced to many on the police force by Chief Nick Willard. Trump spoke to the crowded room for roughly five minutes and then took pictures with anyone there who wanted one.
Trump’s newly accessible style departs from a playbook he had used for months. He has called into TV shows rather than appearing in-studio, berated protesters at his rallies, and belittled rivals on the debate stage. He paid little heed to the political traditions of Iowa, where he placed a disappointing second place in Monday’s caucuses. He had similarly flouted New Hampshire’s conventions until Thursday.
There was still no drop-in at Lindy’s Diner, nor did he stand before unscreened voters and field questions for an intimate town-hall meeting — a ritual followed by the candidates who have chased him fruitlessly for months in polls.
But, with his Iowa finish denting his air of invincibility and more candidates staking greater importance on New Hampshire, Trump appears to be trying to up his game.
“I’m here. I have great energy. I love the place. I love the people,’’ Trump said of his schedule Thursday.
Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, told reporters, “I think we take nothing for granted. We’re doing everything we can to try to talk to every voter possible. We’ve made a lot of phone calls, we’ve knocked on a lot of doors. And we’re going to do a lot of stops.’’
Despite his new ardor for the campaign trail, Trump still significantly trails his challengers in the number of New Hampshire stops; only retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson a has fewer. Other candidates, such as Governors John Kasich of Ohio and Chris Christie of New Jersey, have held more than 180 events each in New Hampshire during their campaigns, according to New England Cable News.
Like his fellow chief executives, former Florida governor Bush continues to struggle in the polls as Rubio rises. The CNN/WMUR survey pegged Trump at 29 percent and Rubio, who finished third in the caucuses, at 18 percent. Senator Ted Cruz, Kasich, and Bush were all clustered in low double digits. Christie dropped 4 percentage points from a pre-Iowa poll, to 4 percent.
The campaign carried a relatively large margin of error among the likely Republican voters, plus or minus 6.8 percentage points.
Globe correspondent Mina Corpuz and James Abundis of the Globe staff contributed to this article. Jim O’Sullivan can be reached at jim.osullivan@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @JOSreports. James Pindell can be reached at james.pindell@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesPindell.
