Vice President Kamala Harris may not like it, and Durham Democrats may put an asterisk on it, but Monday is Columbus Day in New Hampshire and every corner of the state.

A new law went into effect earlier this year with an amendment from State Senator Lou D'Allesandro (D-Manchester) that requires every city, town and school district to observe the same holidays as the state. That means Portsmouth Mayor Deaglan McEachern might not like it.

In 2022, Portsmouth City Council ended the tradition of observing both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday in October. “It is unfair and cruel to continue celebrating Christopher Columbus, who committed grave atrocities and massacres among the indigenous populations he encountered,” complained one opponent.

Harris is also not a fan of Columbus Day. While running for president during the 2020 New Hampshire primary, she urged an audience at Portsmouth City Hall to “count me in my support” for the effort to abolish Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day substitute.

She wasn't the only one. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told the Concord Monitor that she also supports the New Hampshire legislation.

“I think we should honor those who were here first and the extraordinary sacrifices they had to make,” Warren said.

Donald Trump is trying to make it an issue in the current presidential election campaign.

“Kamala Harris is your stereotypical lefty. She not only wants to raise taxes and defund the police, but also abolish American traditions like Columbus Day,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told NHJournal. “President Trump will ensure that the great legacy of Christopher Columbus is honored and protect this holiday from radical leftists who, like Kamala Harris, want to erase our nation’s history.”

And as Patrick Ruffini of Echelon Insights noted on social media: “Vice President Harris for three years tweeted about Indigenous Peoples Day, but not Columbus Day. Will this continue (Monday)?”

In New Hampshire, progressives like Harris continue to complain about Columbus Day.

The City of Durham has dutifully changed its calendar to declare Monday “Columbus Day,” but adds, “Also locally designated as Indigenous Peoples Day by City Council Resolution No. 2017-28.”

In Concord they reversed that, calling Monday “Indigenous Peoples Day” and putting Columbus on the asterisk.

Manchester has never given up on Columbus Day, but not for lack of trying. Proposals to make Indigenous Peoples Day a municipal holiday were regularly considered during Joyce Craig's term as mayor. Craig supported the idea, telling the Board of Aldermen in 2020: “I agree that this would add a new layer to (Columbus Day) and provide an opportunity to learn from history and start a dialogue in the community , which we haven’t had before.” ”

Opponents of Columbus Day often bring up the Italian explorer's alleged atrocities, but rarely mention the well-documented historical records of slavery, ritual human sacrifice and cannibalism practiced by Native Americans long before the arrival of Europeans.

But the real debate is whether any of this will matter on Election Day. Less than one in ten Granite Staters is of Italian descent. And while in many places there is significant overlap between the Italian and Catholic communities, in New Hampshire there is no significant, organized Catholic vote. If so, Harris' anti-Catholic rhetoric could be a problem. That's not it.

Last year, Harris gave a speech on the eve of Indigenous Peoples Day in which he said America “must not shy away from this shameful past” and must “shed light” on the explorers who unleashed “a wave of devastation” on indigenous peoples nations would have ushered in.