Free Republic

"A Donald Trump-Mitt Romney showdown in New Hampshire Looks like Donald Trump's win-the-birthers strategy is working in New Hampshire — and that’s coming at the expense of front-runner Mitt Romney. Romney leads the first-in-the-nation primary contest in a multitude of scenarios involving difference candidates, often by as much as a 2-1 margin, according to a survey out Tuesday from Public Policy Polling. But when Trump gets into the race, Romney’s edge shrinks to 6 points, 27 percent to 21 percent. If Trump isn't included in the survey, Romney draws 32 percent of the vote, with Mike Huckabee a distant second...

New Hampshire Democrats conceded a dramatic loss of power to a Republican insurgency last November. Now another group is coming to terms with its sidelining. Moderate Republicans, the practical-minded mainstay of the state’s venerable GOP, have watched in dismay as conservative legislators have proposed restricting state education funding to English, math, science, social studies, and physical education and urged that officials no longer “bear faith and true allegiance’’ to the United States and New Hampshire, but rather, only to New Hampshire. With the recent ascension of Tea Party activist Jack Kimball to head the state Republican Party, many moderates now...

Republicans are on their way to controlling nearly 300 seats in New Hampshire's House of Representatives, according to preliminary vote counts. The latest tally shows 296 seats firmly in Republican hands, with three seats yet to be decided. GOP sources say two of those will likely go their way and leave Democrats with 102 seats. In the Senate, the final split is 19-5, according to figures at the Secretary of State's office. That represents a pickup of nine seats for the Republicans, who were the minority in a 14-10 Senate for the past four years. [SNIP] Secretary of State William...

NBC News projects that Kelly Ayotte wins the New Hampshire Senate Seat.

The polls close in an hour and a half in some Towns, get out and vote.

<p>CONCORD – The New Hampshire Republican State Committee today denounced Democrat NH House candidate Kevin Halloran’s public death wish for former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. The Party also called on Governor John Lynch and Congressional Candidate Ann McLane Kuster to personally denounce his hateful remarks and call for him to apologize to the Palin family.</p>

Expect to see a lot of analysis about what's going on in New Hampshire after this poll. Public Policy Polling looked at the Senate race and found a striking change since Republican Kelly Ayotte scored an endorsement from Sarah Palin. As a former attorney general, Ayotte has already run statewide and voters considering who they want to succeed retiring Sen. Judd Gregg ought to be at least somewhat familiar with her. But the Mama Grizzly seal of approval seems to have raised some doubts about Ayotte with the biggest bloc of voters in the state. Ayotte's lead over Rep. Paul...

CONCORD – Republican vice presidential nominee and ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Monday simultaneously endorsed GOP Senate hopeful Kelly Ayotte of Nashua and slapped around Ayotte’s two main rivals for the job. Palin posted on her Facebook page a surprise endorsement in this crowded primary to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg. “It’s my honor to endorse a Granite State “mama grizzly” who has broken barriers, fought off and locked up criminals, and battled all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the rights of New Hampshire parents – and won,” Palin wrote. “New Hampshire is lucky to...

Today Sarah Palin endorsed former AG Kelly Ayotte’s senate bid, setting off an earthquake that shook the political landscape in New Hampshire. Within minutes of the endorsement, headlines started screaming on blogs and newsites on the state and national scene. Ayotte’s Democratic opponent Paul Hodes and liberal blog Blue Hampshire started hyperventilating almost immediately, while Ayotte’s GOP opponents had conniptions of their own. Ovide Lamontagne denounced the endorsement in a long, rambling statement, while a Bender spokesman tried to downplay it by saying that they may have seen something about it but deleted the email. Regardless of your opinion on...

Todd, Willow, and I are headed out to Kodiak and Afognak to meet with logging families on the forested islands. As we work and sightsee on America’s largest island we’ll get to view more majestic bears, so now is a good time to draw attention to the political equivalent of the species. It’s my honor to endorse a Granite State “mama grizzly” who has broken barriers, fought off and locked up criminals, and battled all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the rights of New Hampshire parents – and won! New Hampshire is lucky to have Kelly...

Ayotte Builds Momentum for "Year of the Pro-Life Woman"

A new poll from University of New Hampshire gives Republicans the edge in the two competitive House races and the open-seat Senate race in the Granite State. In the Senate race, former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte (R) leads Rep. Paul Hodes (D), 47 percent to 32 percent, with 21 percent undecided. Ayotte also tests strongest in the GOP field against Hodes with every other Republican in the field -- attorney Ovide Lamontagne, businessmen Bill Binnie and Jim Bender -- in a statistical tie with the Democratic Congressman. In the 1st congressional district, Manchestor Mayor Frank Guinta leads Rep. Carol Shea-Porter,...

(snip) McCain this year finds himself in a primary battle with former U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth in his effort to win a fifth six-year term in Arizona. "I'm confident of victory but I have taken every race I've ever been in seriously, and I take this one seriously as well," he said. He said he holds town-hall-style meetings throughout his home state, just as he did in New Hampshire during his 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns. But, he added, "None are quite like Peterborough," which he called his favorite venue. McCain said that from Arizona to New Hampshire, jobs and...

Using his strongest language to date, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) continued to sound the alarm about the dangers Barack Obama's budget policies pose to the fate of the nation in a speech given today to the New England Council in Bedford, New Hampshire.The Ranking Member on the Senate Budget Committee has been speaking out in very stark terms about the effects Obama's trillion dollar deficits and out of this world spending will have on the near and long term future of the American people.The Union Leader quoted Gregg as saying Obama's fiscal policies will lead to bankruptcy for the nation.Gregg...

TARP: The OMB director is grilled over the misuse of bank bailout funds for purposes other than intended by Congress. This taxpayer money wasn't intended to be the administration's perpetual slush fund. When the specifically targeted and named Troubled Asset Relief Program was enacted, we were told it was a necessary and wise investment. It would stabilize the financial system and keep credit and money moving. We would even get our money back and then some. Many banks didn't want the money or need it. Some were told to take it or they'd be audited. So they took it. The...

Former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte remains the strongest Republican running against Democratic Congressman Paul Hodes in New Hampshire’s race for the U.S. Senate, but the numbers have changed very little over the past few months. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state shows Ayotte leading Hodes 46% to 39%. Three percent (3%) prefer another candidate, and 13% are undecided. A month ago, Ayotte led Hodes 49% to 40%. In September, it was a 46% to 38% race with the Republican ahead. Hodes still holds his own, however, against two other GOP hopefuls. He leads...

Voters appear to have soured on embattled New Hampshire Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter after a series of bizarre antics have made her the subject of widespread derision in Washington and New Hampshire. According to a new poll by the University of New Hampshire only 35% of likely voters approve of the job Shea-Porter is doing in Congress. 40% disapprove. 24% are neutral or don’t know for sure how they feel. Even worse, all potential Republican candidates for Congress – even the lesser-known candidates – would defeat her if the election were held today. Former Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta performs best against...

There’s a lot of good news in this WMUR Granite State poll (as of this moment, we’re looking at retaining Gregg’s seat, and picking up both House seats), but Shea-Porter’s numbers are the most immediately interesting. 35/40 approval/disapproval (the worst she’s ever had); and she loses to all four hypothetical candidates: In a race between Shea Porter and her best known challenger, Frank Guinta, 43% of likely 1st CD voters say they would vote for Guinta, 33% would vote for Shea Porter, 2% prefer some other candidate, and 22% are undecided. In a matchup with Rich Ashooh, 36% of likely...

There's still the better part of a year to go, but prospects for some GOP House seat pickups in New Hampshire look pretty healthy: According to a new poll by the University of New Hampshire only 35% of likely voters approve of the job [Rep. Carol] Shea-Porter is doing in Congress. 40% disapprove. 24% are neutral or don’t know for sure how they feel. Even worse, all potential Republican candidates for Congress — even the lesser-known candidates — would defeat her if the election were held today. Former Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta performs best against Shea-Porter, defeating her in a...

A new Daily Kos/Research 2000 survey in New Hampshire finds Kelly Ayotte (R) leading Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH) for U.S. Senate, 46% to 39%. However, Hodes leads the other Republicans in the race, beating Ovide Lamontagne (R), 46% to 36%, and topping William Binnie (R), 45% to 35%. In the GOP primary, Ayotte leads with 36%, followed by Lamontagne at 27% and Binnie at 4%.

NEW HAMPSHIRE ELECTION CENTRAL If we are going to make a difference in the upcoming election, we need to KNOW the candidates. Please post the names of ALL your Congressional candidates on this thread along with any and all information available. We need names, positions, platforms, news articles, statements, pictures. We need to separate the RINOS from the Conservatives, and most of all, we need to get the liberals of either party OUT!We can do this if you help. I have started this thread. All you have to do is contribute a little time and a little research. Help...

CONCORD, New Hampshire, January 14, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The New Hampshire House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a bill that would have legalized assisted suicide. Lawmakers voted 242-113 to kill the measure. In November, the House Judiciary Committee had recommended against passing the bill by a wide margin, 14-3. HB 304, introduced by Representative Charles Weed, would have allowed a "mentally competent person who is 18 years of age or older" who was deemed terminally ill to request a fatal drug through a written request. "It's not the function of government to encourage suicide in the young or the old,"...

Like any couple, Kate Russell and Lynn Taylor had a lot to worry about before their wedding day: the food, the music, the guest list, the weather, their hair. But as a lesbian couple poised to wed the first day gay marriage became legal in the state, there were other worries: Would New Hampshire follow Maine and take away their right to be together not long after it was won? "That's why we're doing it on the first," Taylor said in a recent interview at the couple's home before their wedding yesterday. Bills have been filed in the state Legislature...

The following results are based on 566 completed telephone interviews among a statewide random sample of registered voters in New Hampshire. Of the 566 interviews, 173 were among Republicans, 175 among Democrats, and 218 among undeclared voters. The interviews were conducted December 26 through 29, 2009. The theoretical margin of error for the sample of 566 registered voters is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split. Question wording and response: If the 2010 election for US Senate were being held today between Kelly Ayotte, the Republican, and Paul Hodes, the...

Now Hampshire has this breaking news— Republican activist and free market think-tanker Grant Bosse formally declared his candidacy today in New Hampshire’s 00th Congressional District after news that the Obama administration has attributed a majority of the state’s stimulus jobs to that non-existent district.

Bosse enters race for GOP nod in New Hampshire’s satirical 00th district November 20, 2009 by Patrick Filed under News & Politics 2 Comments Republican activist and free market think-tanker Grant Bosse formally declared his candidacy today in New Hampshire’s 00th Congressional District after news that the Obama administration has attributed a majority of the state’s stimulus jobs to that non-existent district. Bosse is in New Hampshire has only two congressional districts, neither of which are numbered “00.” “Even a fake district needs real leadership,” said Bosse while appearing on WGIR’s Charlie Sherman show on Friday morning. “The people overseeing...

As the anger over the nation's movement towards socialism grows, Democrats' patience with town hall meeting protesters is clearly wearing thin. On Saturday, Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) instructed security guards to escort what ended up being a retired New York City patrolman out of a fiery Manchester gathering. Removed from the forum because he continually interrupted Shea-Porter and others in Manchester was Carl Tomanelli of Londonderry, who objected when her staff passed out health care stickers before the event began. He also objected that people outside Shea-Porter's Congressional district were in the room, including a young man who could not...

New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, today announced her intention to resign so that she can explore a run for the U.S. Senate, the Union Leader reports. "Recently, many New Hampshire citizens have urged me to run for United States Senate. I appreciate their confidence in me," she said in a statement. "After discussing this matter with my husband, Joe, and our family, I have decided to resign as Attorney General in order to explore a campaign." She said that the attorney general's office "has a long tradition as a nonpartisan, independent office," and she's resigning to preserve...

Former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu announced Wednesday he will not run for New Hampshire’s open Senate seat in 2010, forcing Republicans to continue their search for a top flight candidate. “Representing New Hampshire in the United States Senate is a great honor, but effective public service is much more than just a desire to hold office,” Sununu said in a statement.

Rep. Paul Hodes (D) begins his New Hampshire Senate bid with a small lead over a prospective opponent, according to recent poll results. Hodes led former GOP Sen. John Sununu 42 percent to 36 percent, with 22 percent of survey respondents saying they were undecided. Sen. Judd Gregg (R) has announced he is retiring at the end of his term, creating an open-seat contest in 2010. Hodes is the only announced candidate so far in the race. Sununu, who lost re-election in 2008, has not publicly expressed interest in running for Granite State’s other Senate seat, but many local Republicans...

Does John E. Sununu's rapid-fire post-Capitol Hill appointments to three corporate boards and a congressional oversight panel mean he won't run for the open U.S. Senate seat next year?. Not necessarily, says Andrew Smith, an associate political science professor at the University of New Hampshire. "It's not unusual for former politicians to take positions on boards because it allows them to keep their business contacts and make some money, but doesn't put them in a position of having a regular full-time job," Smith said. "It kind of keeps them tied in to political and business circles and allows them to...

Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (D) announced Monday that she will not run for US Senator in 2010. Congressman Paul Hodes (D) previously entered the race to succeed retiring US Senator Judd Gregg (R). Hodes now looks unlikely to face serious opposition for the Democratic nomination. Former US Senator John Sununu is considering running on the GOP side, and would be viewed as the strongest Republican candidate. Several other Republicans -- including former Congressman Charlie Bass and former Governor Steve Merrill -- are also looking at the race.

KENTUCKY. US Senator Jim Bunning (R) is already expected to face a tough fight for reelection next year, as leading Bluegrass State Democrats are lining up to run. Over the weekend, Bunning helped to contribute to his reputation for making erratic comments. Speaking at a Lincoln Day event over the weekend, Bunning said that US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg will be dead from pancreatic cancer within the next nine months. Bunning also complained the NRSC isn't doing enough financially to help him and other embattled conservative incumbents. In related news, The Hill reports that State Senate President David...

Judd Gregg made clear Thursday he would rather serve in the Senate than in the Obama administration, but the New Hampshire Republican said he “probably” will not seek a fourth term next year. “Will I run? Probably not,” Gregg said at a press conference after withdrawing from the Commerce post. Gregg also told the New Hampshire Union-Leader earlier in the day that he does not intend to seek re-election.