MANCHESTER, N.H. — In the seven days between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary, Democratic presidential candidates criss-crossed New Hampshire to host chili feeds, attend town hall meetings and rally voters at local coffee shops.

In the aftermath of the nation’s first 2004 primary, many voters had mixed feelings on the effect the Iowa caucuses had on the results of Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, won by Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.

Aoife McCarthy, a 24-year-old volunteer for the Kerry campaign from Washington, said she felt Kerry’s win in Iowa gave him the boost he needed win in New Hampshire.

“I think the effect of Iowa was massive. The amount of money that has been raised since Iowa has been phenomenal and the volunteers have started coming in busloads — from Florida, Syracuse and Boston,” she said.

Jennifer Flanders, a first-time primary voter from Manchester, N.H., said the results of the caucuses were not major factors in her voting decision.

However, she said voters may have taken a second look at the candidates after Iowa’s caucus results.

“It was interesting to hear because [Iowans] have a different point of view,” she said. “We were hearing a lot about [former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean] here, and to see him come in third was really surprising … It made a lot of people take a second look at things, but I don’t think it changed their minds.”

Jason Levine, a 26-year-old Dean supporter from Hooksett, N.H., agreed that although most voters in New Hampshire didn’t change their minds at primary time, results from Iowa were paid attention to.

One question many had after the primary ended Tuesday evening was whether Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman’s and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark’s decisions to skip the caucuses had an effect on how they did in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire state Rep. Peter Sullivan, of Manchester, said he feels Lieberman was better off having not participated in the caucuses at all than to have competed and lost.

“He doesn’t lend himself to a caucuses environment,” he said.

Sullivan said there were advantages to skipping out of the caucuses for both Lieberman and Clark.

“Lieberman saw a state like New Hampshire with a lot of moderate Democrats, and knew he would fare better there,” he said.

“Both used that time to boost their support in New Hampshire. What they lost in national coverage in the week after the caucuses, they made up for in local coverage.”