Dean Barker reviews the responses of New Hampshire’s top elected officials to gun safety proposals and concludes “only President Obama and Rep. Shea-Porter advocated on behalf of the majority of Granite Staters when it mattered:”
When President Obama unveiled his plan for commonsense gun safety in the wake of 20 murdered children, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter immediately responded with support for it. She was vindicated in her leadership on this by two subsequent polls (UNH, NEC) showing clear majority support in New Hampshire for the key elements of the President’s plan.
Senators Shaheen and Ayotte, Rep. Kuster, and Gov. Hassan (who, it will be remembered, made a very publicized choice to be speak out on the federal issue of DOMA) were all silent on the President’s plan unless pressed by reporters.
After 20 little innocents and six caring adults were gunned down at school in Newtown, Americans didn’t just grieve for the victims – they changed their minds about our gun laws. …
On television, solemn politicians vowed to do something to prevent the next tragedy. …
Action seemed imminent. Then, suddenly, something made many politicians freeze in their tracks. That something was the National Rifle Association. …
Who will win this battle? Will it be the people, the majority of whom want tighter gun laws, or will it be the NRA and their friends in Congress? We owe the victims of Newtown and the astounding 2,200 Americans who have been killed by guns since then more than posturing. We owe them a vote.
In its debut House ratings for the 2014 cycle, Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ballidentifies New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District as one of just seven toss-up races.
That’s an improvement for Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter. In ratings updated just before the 2012 election, editor Kyle Kondik handicapped the race as “Leans Republican” and wrote that he favored incumbent Frank Guinta to “hang on” against Shea-Porter.
Congresswoman Ann Kuster is also listed as one of the 69 House members who is, at least potentially, vulnerable. The state’s 2nd Congressional District is rated as “Leans Democratic.”
Down. Her vote against the “no budget, no pay” measure was classic Shea-Porter. She chose principle over politics and she is going to pay for that in the next election. (She also doesn’t care.)
If the 112th Congress fails to address the so-called fiscal cliff, writes 1st District Congresswoman-elect Carol Shea-Porter, she and the 113th Congress will be prepared to act on day one.
Shea-Porter acknowledges Democrats and Republicans will need to compromise, but she draws a line in the sand over cuts to Medicare and Social Security benefits:
I will not compromise on Medicare and Social Security benefits. The Congressional Budget Office says if we do nothing, spending on Medicare and Medicaid will rise to 10 percent of the economy by 2037. We cannot ignore this. … I want to see us control costs and hold down spending increases, but I will not support forcing seniors and people with disabilities to dig into their wallets to make up for bad policies, lobbyists’ influence on Congress and our tax code, for “subsidies for the rich and famous,” … and for waste, fraud and mismanagement across the spectrum.
I simply will not break a social, economic, and moral contract with working men and women in America….
Guinta said Shea-Porter has resorted to “name-calling” in an effort to undercut what he has accomplished. “This notion of labeling every Republican as a member of the tea party is ridiculous,” he said.
2010. Frank Guinta addressing a Tea Party rally in Dover:
The latest New England College poll from the school’s Center for Civic Engagement is out with results for the Granite State’s presidential and congressional contests.
President Obama leads Mitt Romney by a 49.5% to 44.4% margin. Last week, Obama led 49% to 46%. This is the fifth consecutive survey over the last seven days showing Obama with a lead.
Congressman Frank Guinta has opened up a seven point lead over Democrat Carol Shea-Porter in the state’s 1st Congressional District. The incumbent leads his challenger 48% to 41%, with 9% undecided.
In the more Democratic 2nd District, Democrat Annie Kuster leads Congressman Charlie Bass by a 47% to 41% margin. 11% are still undecided.
The results are based on automated calls using landlines and cellphones to 1017 likely voters with a +/- 3.7% margin of error and subsamples of 511 likely voters in the 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts with +/- 4.3% margins of error. The survey was conducted on October 29-31, 2012.
Democrat Carol Shea-Porter today hit Congressman Frank Guinta over his endorsement from Susan B. Anthony List. The hardline anti-abortion political group today announced its endorsement of Guinta in his 1st District rematch with Shea-Porter:
Rep. Guinta has a 100 percent pro-life voting record and has also earned the endorsement of the National Right to Life Committee. Former Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, has been endorsed by EMILY’s List, NARAL, and Planned Parenthood….
Shea-Porter noted while the National Right to Life Committee believes abortion should be permitted to prevent the death of the mother, Guinta has stated he would support an abortion ban with “no exceptions” if Roe v. Wade is repealed:
Congressman Frank Guinta’s chilling position to let a woman die rather than a life threatening pregnancy is being “honored” with an endorsement from the Susan B. Anthony group. National Right to Life disagrees with Guinta’s extremism. They would let women live.
A new poll from Public Policy Polling has Congressman Frank Guinta and Democrat Carol Shea-Porter in a virtual tie in their 1st District rematch. The survey, commissioned by the left-leaning CREDO SuperPAC, gives Guinta a one-point lead (48% to 47%) with 5% still undecided.
Public Policy Polling surveyed 654 likely Granite State voters on October 25-26, 2012. The poll has a +/-3.8% margin of error.
The Rothenberg Political Report, a non-partisan newsletter covering campaigns and politics, changed its ratings for both New Hampshire congressional contests today to “Pure Toss-Up.”
The 1st District rematch between Congressman Frank Guinta and Democrat Carol Shea-Porter had been rated “Toss-Up/Tilt Republican.” The 2nd District race between Congressman Charlie Bass and Democrat Annie Kuster had been rated “Toss-Up/Tilt Democrat.”
Rothenberg Report projects a Democratic gain of two to eight U.S. House seats, short of the 25 seat pickup they need for a majority.
New York Times reporter Derek Willis points to New Hampshire’s 1st District Congressional race as one of the competitive House districts around the nation that has seen an explosion of outside spending driven by the proliferation of Super PACs.
In New Hampshire’s First District, for example, Representative Frank Guinta, a Republican, is trying to hold off a challenge from the woman he ousted in 2010, the Democrat Carol Shea-Porter. After a few relatively quiet weeks in early September, interest groups and national party committees spent nearly $2 million through Oct. 21 trying to influence voters. Most of the money was spent in the past two weeks.
Projected Democratic seats: 190
