Last modified: Sunday, July 29, 2007 11:29 PM EDT Signs for Attleboro mayoral candidate John Davis started appearing weeks ago for an election that is still months away. (Staff photo by TOM MAGUIRE) Candidates starting earlier BY JIM HAND SUN CHRONICLE STAFF Some blame Jimmy Carter. Political campaigns are starting earlier and some trace the trend back to the 39th president. Back in 1976, Carter was an obscure Georgia governor running for president in a Democratic field with much better known candidates. But Carter started early and campaigned hard in the Iowa caucuses, which had never been taken too seriously before then. Although an uncommitted slate of delegates came in first, Carter got the most votes among candidates, vaulting him into national prominence. He parlayed the victory into another stunning win in the New Hampshire primary, went on to win the presidency and changed the way people run for the White House. "I think it goes back 30 years to Jimmy Carter and Iowa," Peter Torkildsen, chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, said of the early campaigning. He said Carter showed that candidates who are not well known and do not have a lot of money can win if they start campaigning early. Candidates with a lot of money can buy a lot of advertising. Candidates who are well-known get a lot of free publicity by generating news stories. But lesser known candidates have to rely on grassroots campaigning that includes shaking hands and talking with voters and party officials. Iowa and New Hampshire are ripe for that type of campaigning. "An unknown absolutely has to start early. People want to know who they are voting for," Torkildsen said. But, now even well-known and well-financed candidates like Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani are starting early. The presidential candidates have been on the stumped for months. They've already held several debates, even though the primaries are six months away and the general election is not until November of next year. John Walsh, head of the state Democratic Party, said the candidates are now responding to states moving up their primaries to early 2008. He said some states felt they were being overlooked by candidates, so they made their primaries earlier, creating a ripple effect. The early primaries, U.S. Rep. James McGovern said, mean candidates have to raise more money and raise it earlier than ever before. There will be four primaries and caucuses in January and an eight-state primary on Feb. 5 in what is being called "Super Duper Tuesday." With so many states voting so early, the nominations could be decided before voters go to the polls in the Massachusetts primary in March. "It could be all over by February," McGovern said. Walsh said there is a possibility that the votes will be divided enough to keep a number of candidates alive through March. The trend toward early campaigns appears to be filtering down to the state and local level. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick started campaigning two years before last fall's election. The Attleboro Republican City Committee held a candidates forum in May, before many candidates had even declared they were running. Attleboro mayoral candidate John Davis already has campaign signs up in anticipation of September's preliminary election. Traditionally, the bulk of political signs in Attleboro went up after Labor Day. Walsh said Patrick had to start early because he wanted to run a grassroots campaign that relied on meeting a lot of voters. He was also an unknown who had never held elective office before, and was not well connected with the Beacon Hill power structure. "When he first started running, people didn't know if his name was Deval Patrick or Patrick Deval," said Paul Grady, chairman of the Attleboro Democratic City Committee and a Patrick supporter. Money is another factor playing heavily into the campaign schedule. With the primary schedule being consolidated, candidates need larger staffs to work several states at once, instead of the past practice of a small staff moving from one state to another after each primary. More television advertising will also have to be bought, putting more pressure on candidates to raise money. To raise more money, candidates have to declare they are officially in the race earlier. Torkildsen predicted that some candidates will have to drop out of the presidential race before the first primary vote is cast because of money problems. Sen. John McCain has already had to pare back his staff because of a lack of funds. McGovern said he dislikes the new trend toward earlier campaigns. He said the campaigning and jockeying for position interferes with good government. "I think perpetual campaigning gets in the way of getting things done. I believe there is a time for governing and a time for campaigning," he said. Some commentators have also said that the early presidential campaigning all but assures that voters will be sick of the candidates by the time the election rolls around a year from November. Negative advertising is often what turns voters off during the course of a campaign. Torkildsen said even if the candidates run clean campaigns, special-interest groups are going to bombard the airwaves with attack ads. All of which has some in politics wishing for a vacation from the campaign. "There is a point where people are going to tune out," McGovern said. "I'm as big a political junky as anyone, but even I need a break."