Republicans Targeting NH in 2014

Democratic U.S. Reps. Annie Kuster and Carol Shea-Porter are both seen as potentially vulnerable.

The emails come almost daily, blasting Democratic Congresswomen Annie Kuster and Carol-Shea Porter and attempting to tie them to everything from sequestration to our nation's economic woes. “Annie Kuster Votes Against Only Plan to Balance Budget,” reads one. “BAD VOTE ALERT: Kuster and Shea-Porter put Washington bureaucracy before American workers,” reads another. No sooner had the dust settled on the 2012 election than the National Republican Congressional Committee started targeting Kuster and Shea-Porter. The 2014 mid-term elections are still a year and a half away, but already, national and local political organizations are beginning to ramp up their operations. “It never really ends anymore,” veteran political scientist Dean Spiliotes…

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JPF36

7:51 am on Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Atlant, WHEN WILL YOU PAY YOUR FAIR SHARE FOR THE GAS TAX. THE EXISTING 18 CENTS AND THE PROPOSED 12 CENT INCREASE????? You are a HYPROCRITE   more ›

NH Election Results 2012

Updates on the 2012 federal and state elections will be posted here throughout the day. Connect with us on Twitter too at #PatchElections.

[Stay with Patch as we update this article with news and information from the polls and live election results as they come in.] Obama-Biden Maggie Hassan Carol Shea-Porter * With more than 60 percent of precincts reporting 1:45 a.m.: The Associated Press has declared Democrat Carol Shea-Porter the winner over Republican Frank Guinta in the 1st District Congressional race. 11:59 p.m.: Democrat Annie Kuster has been declared the winner over Republican Charles Bass in the 2nd District Congressional race. 11:39 p.m.: Barack Obama has been re-elected president, according to NBC News. 9:55 p.m.: CBS News and NBC have called New Hampshire for President Obama. 9:44 p.m.: Romney has taken Amherst, by a total of 3,906 to 3,501. 9:33 p.m.: Meanwhile…

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Atlant Schmidt

2:18 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Bob: I can't tell how serious your question was, but I'll answer it anyway: 1. It is a matter of public record, visible to the poll watchers, whether you are registered as a Democrat, a Republican, or "Undeclared". 2. It is a matter of public record what your name is and it's usually obvious what sex you are. Maria Gonzalez probably votes differently than John Smith. 3. Many people self-identify …   more ›

NH Towns to Keep an Eye on Tuesday

UNH political science professor Dante Scala tells us which towns he sees as bellwethers for who New Hampshire will go for in the presidential election.

In every big election, there are towns prognosticators look to as indicators of how a particular state, or even the entire country, might vote. These bellwether towns can provide an early sign of what the final result is going to be. We asked University of New Hampshire political science professor Dante Scala to tell us which Granite State towns he thinks will be bellwethers in Tuesday's presidential election between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Working-class Rochester and other northern Strafford County towns like Farmington, Strafford and Northwood were among the ones he mentioned. He also cited Seacoast communities like Hampton, North Hampton, Rye and Stratham as potential bellwethers, because they're a bit well-off, but …

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Brian

8:20 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012

Please give me your name address and post a check for whatever amount. I'll take your bet. But then, if you had an ounce of courage, you'd use your real name instead of hate-mongering.   more ›

Election Notebook

Big NH Races Could Go Down to The Wire

The four biggest races are all too close to call with five weeks remaining.

Who's up, and who's down? With all of the different polls being released each week, it can be tough to keep track of who's winning which race. For example, a Rasmussen poll released last week had Mitt Romney up 3 percent on Barack Obama in New Hampshire. But an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll and another by ARG had Obama leading Romney. Real Clear Politics does a good job of averaging recent polls, and according to their average of the three polls mentioned above, Obama is leading by 3 percent. So who do they have leading some other key races in New Hampshire? Republican Ovide Lamontagne has a slight 1.4 percent lead over Democrat Maggie Hassan, according to the Real Clear Politics average, making it a virtual toss up. And though there are no…

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Jeannine Stergios-Richardson

3:41 pm on Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Tim - Speaking as the owner of two small businesses I am shocked he has any supporters from small business. Maybe they don't know any better... yet. I guess they haven't gotten their annual renewal bill from their health insurance yet, or seen the increase in bank fees or credit card fees.   more ›

Election Notebook

'Tea Party' Ovide vs. 'Big-Spending' Maggie?

It appears the gubernatorial candidates have found their narratives.

On the night she won the Democratic primary for governor, Maggie Hassan wasted no time setting the tone for the general election, referencing the Tea Party six times as she attempted to tie Republican opponent Ovide Lamontagne to the Tea Party and House Speaker Bill O'Brien as well. It took him a week, but it appears Lamontagne has settled on an election narrative as well. On Friday, in what appeared to be a coordinated effort, just about every Republican group in New Hampshire issued a statement ripping Hassan for proposing to raise taxes after she made a comment at a Business and Industry Association debate on Wednesday that she would she’d “welcome a discussion” about raising the gas tax and hiking tolls. “At long last, Democrat Maggie …

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Election Notebook

Obama, Romney Can't Get Enough of NH

Both candidates were in the Granite State on Friday.

For months, we've been told that New Hampshire is a key swing state, and for that reason we should expect to receive a lot of attention from the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees leading up to the Nov. 6 election. But even then, the number of visits to the Granite State by Barack Obama and Mitt Romney and their surrogates has been a bit staggering. On Friday, both Obama and Romney were in state – Obama in Portsmouth and Romney in Nashua. Both have already made multiple visits to the state, not to mention the separate trips made by Vice President Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan. Last week, Romney even took to making surprise visits to the Granite State. While in Vermont doing debate prep, he …

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Does Anyone Know Who's Running for Governor?

Recent poll shows only Ovide Lamontagne is known by more than half of voters.

With Barack Obama in New Hampshire yesterday, and Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan coming tomorrow, it's easy to forget that there's another important race going on in this state right now. The race for governor has been overshadowed by the fact that New Hampshire is a swing state in the presidential election. And what little attention the governor's race has received has been more focused on celebrity supporters like Bill Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. A University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll released last week showed that most New Hampshire voters still have no idea who's running for governor. And the primary election is just 23 days from today. Only one candidate, Republican Ovide Lamontagne, is known to a majority of adults in the state. …

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patrice 'dani' podvojsky

6:11 pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2012

What a foolish statement. You must be gay and one of those that is 'in your face'. My niece is gay and she is accepted in our family and not at all militant like a minority of homosexuals are. I will not use the term "gay' for these types are they are not happy. My niece is gay and happy! Ovide, born and raised in this state is well respected and liked, and very well known and mindful of all …   more ›

GOP Candidates Talk Gun Control, Taxes

Seacoast Republican Women's event at Portsmouth Elks Lodge went on without U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta, R-NH, who was unable to attend.

Four GOP Congressional candidates who hope to challenge U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta and U.S. Rep. Charles Bass in the First and Second Congressional districts on Sept. 11 made their case Tuesday to members of the Seacoast Republican Women. Despite the fact that Guinta and Bass were not present, First Congressional District candidates Vern Clough of Dover and Rick Parent of Wolfeboro and Second Congressional District candidates Will Dean and Dennis Lamare addressed several issues shaping these two races, including tax reform, protecting the Second Amendment, reducing the federal deficit and education. When asked by moderator Stella Scamman how they would reform the federal tax code, Clough said he would support a flat tax where “everybody pays …

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Election Notebook

Speaker O'Brien Keeps 'Em Laughing

He joked about the Concord Monitor ban at a debate last week.

House Speaker William O'Brien has received a lot of negative press over the past week following his decision to ban Concord Monitor reporters from a press conference because the newspaper published an editorial cartoon earlier this year featuring O'Brien with a Hitler-style mustache. Well, if his remarks last Wednesday were any indication, all that bad press isn't keeping O'Brien from sleeping at night. O'Brien, who served as moderator for Wednesday's GOP gubernatorial debate, cracked several jokes at the Monitor's expense at the start of the proceedings. "Is anyone here from the Concord Monitor?" he said early on, drawing laughs from the assembled (and mostly Republican) crowd. Later, O'Brien got in another jab: "If you're here from the …

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Dems Call on GOP Candidates to Denounce O'Keefe

Ovide Lamontagne, Kevin Smith, Frank Guinta and Charles Bass were invited to Sunday's gala in Rye featuring the right-wing activist.

The New Hampshire Democratic Party is calling on Republican gubernatorial candidates Ovide Lamontagne and Kevin Smith and Congressmen Frank Guinta and Charles Bass to refuse to attend a GOP gala in Rye on Sunday because right-wing activist James O'Keefe will be in attendance. In a conference call Thursday, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley and former party Chairman Kathy Sullivan said the GOP candidates should refuse to stand with O'Keefe. "I'm really disappointed that the Republican Party would have someone like Mr. O'Keefe come into New Hampshire on their behalf," Sullivan said. "I find it's really sad and disappointing these elected officials are willing to overlook the actions Mr. O'Keefe and his associates are …

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Sick of Liberals

9:43 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012

And Obama refuses to show us his REAL birth certificate, his college transcripts and applications, his state senate records...on and on...why do Liberals and Dems live in such la-la land?   more ›