NH-01: Carol Shea-Porter to Seek Rematch

From former Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, via email:

I am running for the United States House of Representatives. During my two terms serving the good people of New Hampshire’s First District, I always worked for what I call the bottom 99% of Americans, and I never forgot that public office is a public trust.

I was honored to pass legislation to help active duty soldiers and veterans, families, working men and women, senior citizens, and students.  I am running again because I believe we must keep America the land of opportunity and fairness for your children and mine. …

Our current Congress is passing legislation that will hurt average Americans, and they are bowing to special interests instead of focusing on job creation and good government. My dad, who was born and died a Republican, never forgot the power of good government to transform lives.   He served our country in WWII, and then our country thanked him with the GI bill for college so his children were raised in the middle class. He and my mom worked hard, raised a family, and served their community. They paid their taxes and when they retired, received Social Security benefits and Medicare. It was a contract. My parents supported these programs when they worked, and used them when they retired.

CSP, who lost to Republican Frank Guinta last year by a 54-42 margin, had been hinting about this for quite some time, so I’m not surprised. However, it remains to be seen if she’ll have a clear path to the nomination. She was never as strong a campaigner as she was a progressive voice, so I wouldn’t be surprised if other Dems (like former Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand) get in the race.

UPATE: See this must-read comment from Dean Barker for the real dope on this race. Dean isn’t just one of the smartest commentators on New Hampshire that there is, but he’s also one of the best bloggers around, period.

114 thoughts on “NH-01: Carol Shea-Porter to Seek Rematch”

  1. When she shocked everyone with her 2006 win. I’m willing to keep an open mind on a CSP comeback next year… Though I must say I suspect many folks in the NH Democratic Party may not be as open minded as I.

  2. CSP vs Steve Manchin? I like both, both will do well, both would be great votes in congress. I have full faith these two would also have a positive primary that wouldn’t turn negative (or hard negative). Let the people decide.

  3. Ann McLane Kuster was a strong progressive and a good campaigner. Carol Shea-Porter fulfills the first part of that but not the second. I really hope someone else wins the primary here. But I really hoped we weren’t going to have to deal with this.

    1. It was just that, in the course of about 470 different elections, people happened to end up with the current result.

    2. and honestly I don’t think there’s any large force towards divided government…what just ends up happening is there are swings back and forth from party to party, and oftentimes they happen in mid-terms where the president is not on the ballot.  If Obama had been on the ballot in 2010 he may also have fallen to the GOP wave (assuming the GOP had a credible candidate, lol).  So it’s not that people in 2010 wanted Obama as president but Republicans in Congress, or that people in 2006 wanted Bush as president but Democrats in Congress, it’s just the nature of mid-term elections where the president is not on the ballot and things swing away from him.

      A lot of people said that when Democrats took Congress in 2006 it made it more likely that a Republican would follow Bush as president, because of this desire for divided government.  I don’t think there is any evidence to support the belief that Obama did worse than he should have because his party already had Congress.

  4. People keep saying she’s a lousy campaigner. What specifically did she do wrong?

    I know she comes from the tougher of the two districts, so it’s not surprising her margin was naturally larger than Kusters.

  5. for when she asked a woman who was arguing against DADT at a committee hearing “When did you choose to be straight?” and she asked it so seriously too.

    I stood up and applauded

  6. * Do not use NH-02 as a guide to understanding NH-01.  Different demographics, two very different GOP candidates in Guinta and Bass, two very different press environments. (Charlie Bass is toast in 2012, btw.)

    * The name most often being floated right now besides CSP is not former Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand or former State Senator Maggie Hassan (both of whom briefly flirted after the election with No Labels) but DNC member Joanne Dowdell.

    * In 2010 the NRCC made CSP their top target in New England, and, iirc, the whole northeast.  The DCCC was MIA.  More importantly, that district became ground zero for the money spent from the Citizens United decision. CSP’s own fundraising was better every cycle, especially given that she never takes business PAC money.

    * Frank Guinta’s mystery money scandal is still unresolved.  There is a current FEC investigation, and complaints filed with the Clerk of Congress and a US Attorney.  This could end up being nothing, or it could end up completely upending this race.

    * The perception of CSP as too liberal for her district is just that, a media perception, though a popular one.  A look at her votes and positions shows her in line with middle class, blue collar, seniors, and veterans’ concerns.  For example, she voted against TARP, which was in line with her district and was a huge supporter of the Naval Shipyard.  Her attention to veterans’ issues (she is a military spouse) has been the best that district has seen.

    * A brand new PPP poll shows that Frank Guinta has quickly lost favor and that NH-01 is winnable.

    * Something beltway pundits and other out-of-state analysts will miss is how energized the D base has become, and how indies have become awake and invested, in the wake of the state house GOP supermajority attempt to destroy NH with the budget.  This is the most interesting development of the past 3 months, and it wouldn’t surprise me if CSP has had that in her mind in the decision-making process for a run.

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