--- title: Super Bowl 50: Republicans in New Hampshire Love Tom Brady description: The New England Patriots are not in the Super Bowl this Sunday. But don't tell that to the Republicans running for President. canonical: https://time.com/4207955/super-bowl-50-new-hampshire-primary-patriots/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-04T17:38:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:56.860Z article:section: Politics og:title: Republicans Want New Hampshire to Know They Still Love the Patriots og:description: Super Bowl or no Super Bowl og:url: https://time.com/4207955/super-bowl-50-new-hampshire-primary-patriots/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee2c4d80397d4417/69887c26428a9e129dcd1404/tom-brady-new-england-patriots.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4151 og:image:height: 2335 og:image:alt: AFC Championship - New England Patriots v Denver Broncos og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Republicans Want New Hampshire to Know They Still Love the Patriots twitter:description: Super Bowl or no Super Bowl twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee2c4d80397d4417/69887c26428a9e129dcd1404/tom-brady-new-england-patriots.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Republicans Want New Hampshire to Know They Still Love the Patriots > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Best of: Super Bowl ads you want to watch over and over [Watch (HLS stream): Best of: Super Bowl ads you want to watch over and over](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/iUx0RwnU.m3u8) (4:56)  _Published 2016-02-01. Nostalgia runs deep in these bite-size versions of the top Super Bowl ads of the last 27 years as scored by USA Today's Ad Meter._  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Feb 4, 2016 5:38 PM UTC  Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots walks off the field in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver on Jan. 24, 2016. Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots walks off the field in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver on Jan. 24, 2016. Christian Petersen—Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Feb 4, 2016 5:38 PM UTC The New England Patriots are not in [the Super Bowl](http://time.com/4199076/super-bowl-50-2016-what-to-know/) [this Sunday](http://time.com/4202148/super-bowl-50-2016-watch-live-stream-online-free/). But don’t tell that to the Republicans running for President. [Courting voters ahead of next week’s pivotal primary in New Hampshire](http://time.com/4204449/new-hampshire-primary-iowa-caucus-clinton-sanders-cruz-rubio-trump/)—as much a part of Patriots country as anywhere else—the candidates are declaring themselves fans of the team that [lost to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game](http://time.com/4192034/denver-broncos-new-england-patriots-afc-super-bowl/). And fans of its quarterback. In a [Boston radio interview](http://nesn.com/2016/02/donald-trump-dumps-on-patriots-o-line-for-not-protecting-tom-brady/) on Wednesday, Republican Donald Trump, who has [never been short of praise for Patriots star quarterback](http://time.com/4022134/donald-trump-tom-brady/) Tom Brady, called him “the finest guy.” “New England, the whole area there, they are very lucky to have Tom,” Trump said. But asked if Brady would campaign for him in New Hampshire, Trump said he wouldn’t ask the quarterback to do that right now. “I think he would if I asked him to,” Trump said. “I don’t know if I want to ask him to do that, you know. Right now he doesn’t feel so great because of what happened \[in the AFC Championship\]. He was really mauled. I’ll tell you the offensive line was not exactly giving him lots of protection, unfortunately.” Brady found himself at the center of controversy last year amid [the Deflategate scandal](http://time.com/4023686/tom-brady-deflategate-we-have-all-lost/). Republicans sought this week to tie Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to the investigation—which was deeply unpopular in Patriots territory—by highlighting donations the former Secretary of State received from a lawyer who investigated the Patriots [Boston.com](http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2016/02/03/republicans-are-trying-make-ted-wells-donation-hillary-clinton-big-deal/XR0lETRwa444urFZa86ttI/story.html) reports. Brady was suspended as a result of the investigation, but a federal judge later [overturned his suspension](http://time.com/4031023/tom-brady-shines-in-first-game-after-deflategate-ruling/). Ohio Gov. John Kasich complimented Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on Wednesday when asked about his short list of vice presidential contenders. “I have to say that, Belichick was on my list,” Kasich [said in an interview with NBC News](https://twitter.com/KellyO/status/695098273938456576). Even Marco Rubio, who frequently touts his loyalty to the Miami Dolphins,[ joked last month that Brady and Belichick would be prime additions to his administration](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/19/us/politics/boots-marco-rubio-wants-to-talk-guns-and-football.html), suggesting a cabinet appointment would be the best way to sideline Brady. “Belichick,” Rubio said, “would be defense secretary or something. He’ll be blitzing ISIS. It will be awesome.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4207955/super-bowl-50-new-hampshire-primary-patriots/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4207955/super-bowl-50-new-hampshire-primary-patriots/"},"headline":"Republicans Want New Hampshire to Know They Still Love the Patriots","datePublished":"2016-02-04T17:38:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:41:56.860Z","description":"Super Bowl or no Super Bowl","url":"https://time.com/4207955/super-bowl-50-new-hampshire-primary-patriots/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee2c4d80397d4417/69887c26428a9e129dcd1404/tom-brady-new-england-patriots.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee2c4d80397d4417/69887c26428a9e129dcd1404/tom-brady-new-england-patriots.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"AFC Championship - New England Patriots v Denver Broncos","caption":"Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots walks off the field in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver on Jan. 24, 2016.","creditText":"Christian Petersen—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4207955/super-bowl-50-new-hampshire-primary-patriots/","name":"Republicans Want New Hampshire to Know They Still Love the Patriots"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Best of: Super Bowl ads you want to watch over and over","description":"Nostalgia runs deep in these bite-size versions of the top Super Bowl ads of the last 27 years as scored by USA Today's Ad Meter.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/iUx0RwnU/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-02-01T18:56:37.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/iUx0RwnU.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4207955/super-bowl-50-new-hampshire-primary-patriots/","duration":"PT4M56S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4207955/super-bowl-50-new-hampshire-primary-patriots/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```