Telegraph photo by GEORGE PELLETIER Colin Dudin, at left, stands with other interested parties at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown on Thursday for the second night of CNN town halls featuring Democratic presidential candidates. Dudin protested CNN’s omission of Hawaii’s Tulsi Gabbard.

GOFFSTOWN – As CNN officials conducted their second night of Democratic presidential candidate town halls at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown on Thursday, the mood outside the venue was serene.

Few supporters fought the frigid air and sleet, with the exception of one man who took issue with CNN for not allowing Hawaii’s Tulsi Gabbard to appear on stage.

“There’s a large community of combat veterans who have a hard time getting represented anywhere,” said Colin Dudin, a veteran who trekked from Hawaii to be in New Hampshire. “So, when the only female combat veteran running for president, a Hawaii Samoan, gets excluded from the CNN town hall, even though she is polling higher than some other candidates.”

Dudin said he was happy CNN was giving airtime to candidates such as Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer, but frustrated Gabbard was missing from the mix.

“Why the exclusion of Tulsi?” he asked. “This seems deliberate and we want to know why.”

The few other supporters outside the town hall seemed to be happy that at this point in the race with only days left before the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, the campaigns have swung from rhetoric to message.

The candidates featured on Thursday were Vermont’s Bernie Sanders, Indiana’s Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota’s Amy Klobachar and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts.

“We’re here because we want to make sure we matter,” Dudin added. “CNN needs to know, and the people of New Hampshire need to know, that when our army sister is busting her behind to get her message out, and she is excluded from the national stage, that’s just wrong.”

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