Posted on 11/12/2007 4:46:05 PM PST by Clintonfatigued
For months, the slim possibility existed that freshman Democratic Rep. Paul W. Hodes would get a free pass in 2008 despite his ouster of a six-term Republican incumbent last fall, but now it appears that the contest in New Hampshire’s 2nd District may become a more competitive race than expected.
Hodes’ first GOP challenger, lawyer and former Green Beret Jim Steiner, entered the race in October, but Republican Party chairman Fergus Cullen told CQ Politics that Steiner’s entry may only be the first of many. Iraq War veteran Rick Perkins, Grant Bosse, aide to Republican Sen. John E. Sununu , and state Sen. Bob Clegg have all publicly declared their interest in the race and other Republicans are personally considering bids, according to Cullen.
In an interview with CQ Politics, Steiner said he first privately declared his decision to run even before Hodes’ tenure began. The day after the 2006 election, when Hodes defeated six-term Republican Rep. Charles Bass, Steiner said: “I walked into my office and announced . . . ‘This may be day one of my campaign.’ ”
Steiner had been considering running for Congress for years, but said the fact that he had young children in 2002 prompted him to stay out of the race for the 1st District seat left open by successful Senate hopeful, Republican John E. Sununu . But Bass’ defeat signaled to Steiner that it was time for him to seriously consider a run.
Steiner said he isn’t “running against anybody” but is focused on running “for” the seat.
He labels himself a “Colin Powell Republican,” in the mold of the retired Army General who served as secretary of State under President Bush and as national security adviser for President Ronald Reagan. Steiner was co-chairman of the 1996 movement to draft Powell
(Excerpt) Read more at cqpolitics.com ...
I’d like to know more about the people thinking of running. Several names have been bandished, but none have taken the plunge until now.
It’s imperative to knock off the Socialist twin twits from New Hampshire.
It’d be great to put both seats into play. They were ours before, and it’d create some pull to help Sununu win re-election. It’d be nice if we could put in play for the presidential race, too.
Absolutely.
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