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 ›

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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Lamontagne, Hassan Advance in Governor's Race

Lamontagne defeated Kevin Smith on the GOP side, while Democrat Hassan defeated Jackie Cilley. They now move on to the Nov. 6 general election.

Republican Ovide Lamontagne and Democrat Maggie Hassan won big in their respective primaries on Tuesday night, and will now face off in the general election on Nov. 6.  John Babiarz, a Libertarian from Grafton, is also in the race. Hassan defeated Jackie Cilley of Barrington by a healthy margin to win the Democratic primary, with Bill Kennedy a distant third. Lamontagne knocked off Kevin Smith in the Republican primary, with Robert Tarr finishing out of the running. Smith conceded to Lamontagne around 9 p.m., while Cilley conceded to Hassan around 10 p.m. Hassan, 54, a former state Senate Majority Leader from Exeter, is an attorney and mother of two children, one of whom, 23-year-old Ben, has severe disabilities. Her husband Tom is …

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Ernest

9:09 pm on Saturday, September 15, 2012

First of all, the article was written by Stephen Ohlemacher, not Ohiomacher. Second, it appeared in Huffington Post, which doesn't help its creditability. And third, the story did not say it's a widespread problem like you make it sound. Anyone applying for SS disability and thinking they'll breeze through the application process, has a big surprise coming.   more ›

Smith, Lamontagne Trade Pre-Primary Blows

The two clashed in a debate at Windham High School hosted by AFP-NH.

With just two days until the primary, Republican gubernatorial candidates Ovide Lamontagne and Kevin Smith turned up the heat on Sunday in a final debate at Windham High School. The GOP clash, sponsored by Americans for Prosperity – New Hampshire, saw both hopefuls trade blows from beginning to end, mostly calling each other out for flip-flopping on various issues. Smith also pushed back at Lamontagne for his comment during a debate at St. Anselm College last week when he said that he wanted to be a combination of Gov. John Lynch and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, or "Scott Lynch." "I took issue with Ovide the other night," Smith said. "I want to be a governor more in the mold of someone like John Sununu and not somebody like Governor Lynch…

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Gary G. Krupp

5:26 pm on Monday, September 10, 2012

Tom - I agree with you but in this context I think he was referring to Sununu's courage and willingness to lead unapologetically (and Ovide's statement about leaving his Party label at the door). Even those of us who don't like Sununu can agree that those are bold qualities he does indeed posses and my read is that Smith would have them too.   more ›

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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2012 Election Guide

LETTER: Horn Endorses Smith for Governor

The conservative columnist says he "brings a bold new voice to the landscape of leadership and ideas."

On Tuesday, Sept. 11, Republicans will go to the polls and choose a nominee for Governor.  Voters who seek a Governor who will lead with courage, integrity and vision will choose Kevin Smith. In the mold of Scott Walker and Marco Rubio and Chris Christie, Kevin Smith brings a bold new voice to the landscape of leadership and ideas.  He has offered a plan that is packed with real solutions to the very real challenges our state faces today.  He has a record of bold leadership on difficult issues and has proven, time and time again, that he is unafraid to fight for what is right for New Hampshire. First as an elected member of the NH House of Representatives, then as a senior aide to a Republican Governor, as the second-in-command at a major …

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Debra Woodward

11:29 pm on Friday, September 7, 2012

Limited government? In 1997 Kevin Smith spoke in favor of requiring prison terms and fines for women’s physicians who performed safe and legal abortions. Integrity? No candidate has benefited more from a major loophole in New Hampshire's political-finance regulations. State election law limits corporate campaign contributions to $7,000 per election cycle, the same as individual donors. So his …   more ›

Republican Candidates Clash, Play The Lynch Card

Gov. John Lynch was a hot debate topic for Kevin Smith and Ovide Lamontagne.

The two Republican gubernatorial candidates spent much of their time in tonight’s televised debate clashing while comparing, contrasting and criticizing Gov. John Lynch. Kevin Smith and Ovide Lamontagne started things off by saying how they would either like to be, or not like to be, the outgoing governor. Lamontagne, who has said he would like to be a combination of Lynch and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker ("Scott Lynch"), said that he would like to be Lynch-like in some ways. He praised the Democratic governor’s connection with the public and appearances at events, but criticized what he calls a lack of leadership in the corner office. “He managed government in a respectful way, but has not been a leader,” said Lamontagne in the WMUR debate…

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Dennis Taylor

9:42 pm on Friday, September 7, 2012

Finally, liberal who is against the death penalty for innocent fetuses!!! I congratulate you on your manhood and wisdom!!!   more ›

Smith, Lamontagne Debate Gambling, Gun Control

The GOP candidates for governor were aligned on most issues Thursday.

Republican gubernatorial candidates Kevin Smith and Ovide Lamontagne clashed on very few occasions during a Southern N.H. 9-12 Project debate in Windham Thursday, electing instead to tout their experience levels with less than two weeks before the state primary. At times the two hopefuls for governor were so aligned that debate moderator Andrew Hemingway referenced a joke backstage that he would find more disagreements with fellow moderator Paul Westcott. But the two did engage back and forth on their proposed expanded gaming strategies, with both accusing the other of flip-flopping on their previous position against the idea. Smith also acknowledged Lamontagne's law firm, which represents Rockingham Park, the location that Lamontagne said…

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Just One Vote

1:55 pm on Friday, August 31, 2012

And it is state government that put the laws in place that allowed a junky lab technician to work in this state. If employers were allowed to tell the truth about why people were let go without fear of reprise from the employee then maybe this would not have happened in the first place.   more ›

2012 Election Guide

Candidate Profile: Kevin Smith

The Litchfield Republican is running for governor.

Name : Mr. Kevin Howard Smith Also known as : Smitty Age : 35 Place of residence : Litchfield Attended college : Yes College : UNH Manchester Degree : B.A., Communications Year of graduation : 2002 Job titles held : Assistant Directory of Juvenile Justice Department, Executive Director of Cornerstone Action, Senior Aide to Governor Craig Benson, Senior Aide to Senator Bob Smith, State Representative from Londonderry Employers : N/A Party affiliation : Republican Running for a: State office Running for position: Governor Chamber/district: Incumbent: No Previous elective offices : State Representative from Londonderry, 1996-1998 Unsuccessful bids for elective offices: N/A Address 340 Granite Street Manchester NH 03102 Name : Tom DeRosa Title…

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