CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE —The gymnasium smelled like it always had—floor wax, old banners, popcorn from the snack cart that never fully went away.Karoline Leavitt, now 30 years old and a rising political figure, hadn’t stepped into Jefferson High School since her graduation day. She hadn’t planned to feel much beyond mild nostalgia at the alumni fundraiser. But nostalgia wasn’t what found her that afternoon. It was something else.Something that would stay with her long after the balloons deflated and the donation buckets were counted. Because at the far end of the hallway, next to a battered yellow mop bucket, she... Continues…





