Manchester – Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd has made so many campaign trips to New Hampshire that it seemed almost inevitable he would run into Manchester's mayor at some point.

Sure enough, that's what happened yesterday, when he encountered Frank Guinta while shaking hands at one of the city's famous diners.

Five blocks away, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson shadow-boxed with a guy who thought he was only going to a downtown bar for a beer and ended up joking with a White House aspirant.

Their names may not be on top of presidential primary polls, but the two Democratic hopefuls are near the top of the list when it comes to the number of days and events logged in the nation's leadoff primary state.

Mired in single digits in primary polling, the challengers spent yesterday criss-crossing the state hunting for votes.

"If you look at him, he's on a tight schedule, yet he's taking his time to talk to anyone and everyone," bar patron Nick Papathanasiou said of Richardson, with whom he shared a few laughs at J.W. Hills on Elm Street.

The Manchester resident wasn't able to promise the candidate he would be in his corner.

"Not yet," he said, two hours before the first pitch of the Red Sox-Indians playoff game. "There's more candidates to interview."

A block from where Richardson shook hands in the bar, supporters of other campaigns worked to outduel each other with chants and sign-waving outside the state Democratic Party's largest annual fundraiser at the Center of New Hampshire.

Both Dodd and Richardson had appearances scheduled close to the dinner's start, as did the wife of Democratic candidate Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, who attended an event in Londonderry with the wife of Second District congressman Paul Hodes.

Heading to a rally of supporters for Democratic candidate John Edwards across from the dinner, Michelle Trottier shared her view of democracy in action.

"When you can see them in person, you can watch their body language and can see if they are full of fluff or meaning what they're saying," she said of the candidates.

That's what hopefuls such as Dodd and Richardson are banking on as they compete against better-financed foes.

"I believe it's important to connect with voters and let them know you care about them," Richardson -- who holds the world's handshaking record -- said in an interview. "New Hampshire always elects Presidents, and New Hampshirites like underdogs.

"New Hampshire likes to upset the apple cart. It's critically important that I finish in the top three in New Hampshire, and that's my objective. I think it's very doable."

A day after officially filing papers to get on the primary ballot, Dodd greeted morning diners at two Manchester landmarks of the political scene: the Chez Vachon Restaurant on the West Side and the Red Arrow Diner on the east.

At Chez Vachon, Dodd received the endorsement of former New Hampshire House Minority Leader and congressional candidate Jim Craig of Manchester.

"I always hear about inevitability. One thing I learned last year is the only thing that's inevitable in politics is, nothing is inevitable," Craig said.

At the Red Arrow, Dodd found as many of his Connecticut constituents as he did undecided New Hampshire voters, due to the timing of St. Anselm College's parents weekend.

As Dodd was ready to leave, Guinta walked in with his two children. "I'm here to get some breakfast," the mayor announced to the crowd of political operatives and reporters.

Dodd met Guinta's children and then pulled pictures of his own children out of his pocket to show the Guinta kids. "Thanks for spending some time in Manchester," Guinta said and pitched the New Hampshire's primary position.

"I feel very strongly about that," Dodd said, adding that places like New Hampshire and Iowa give candidates like him a chance to make a difference.

Yesterday, Dodd turned his New Hampshire staff over to the "Day of Action to End the War" effort, which included an array of activities designed to pressure President Bush and Congress to redeploy U.S. forces.

Dodd and First District Rep. Carol Shea-Porter kicked off the event at his headquarters before about 70 people, and the two candidates promised to continue the fight in Congress to end the war.

"I'm standing next to a senator who has known all along what the direction should be and he knows the way out. And he has the courage to talk about it," she said. "A lot of people wouldn't drive within 100 miles of an event like this."