NHDP Chair Ray Buckley's Statement on the U.S Senate Race

Concord - New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley released the following statement on Congressman Paul Hodes's loss this evening.

"Congressman Hodes ran a tough race; he faced an uphill battle from the first day but never stopped fighting for the working middle class families of New Hampshire no matter what the odds.

"I know that he would have been just as fiercely an independent voice in the United States Senate as he was in the House.  His loss tonight is a loss for all of New Hampshire."

Bass For Congress - RELEASES NEW TELEVISION and RADIO ADS: "ANNIE AND PAUL"

Concord, NH- The campaign for Republican Charlie Bass unveiled new television and radio advertising today which reminds 2^nd Congressional District voters that Democrat Annie Kuster will continue Paul Hodes’ legacy of supporting Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi’s big-government, deficit-spending agenda – and take it even further.    The ads, which begin airing today, can be viewed on the Bass for Congress YouTube Channel.   On TV, there are 30-second and 60-second versions of the spot.   A 60-second ad is airing on radio.

Script - :60 Radio – “Annie and Paul”

Disclaimer: I’m Charlie Bass and I approve this message.

Announcer: What’s the difference between Annie Kuster and Paul Hodes?

Hodes thinks the government knows best; Kuster too.

Hodes is a liberal: Kuster:  even more liberal!

Hodes voted with Nancy Pelosi 94% of the time, Kuster’s promised to do the same.

Hodes supported the failed economic policies of Obama and the democrats, the failed stimulus, job killing deficits and government bailouts; all of which have left us with nearly 10% unemployment. Kuster - more of the same.

There is one difference between Hodes and Kuster: Hodes voted for Obama-Care; Kuster doesn’t think Obama-care goes far enough! She supports a government takeover of health-care more radical than Obama-Care!

Paul Hodes and Annie Kuster:

 Hodes is out;

 Kuster …. She’s just” way out!

If you’ve had enough of Paul Hodes the last thing you need is Annie Kuster!

It’s time to change Washington now.  You can do it on November 2^nd.

Script - :30 TV – “Annie and Paul”

Disclaimer:  I’m Charlie Bass and I approve this message

Announcer: Annie Kuster and Paul Hodes:

Hodes is a liberal; Kuster-more liberal.

Hodes voted with Pelosi and the Democrats 94% of the time-Kuster will do the same.

Hodes and Kuster both support Obama-Care, the failed stimulus and trillion dollar job killing deficits.

The good news: Hodes is out.  The bad news: Kuster’s way…WAY out!

Kuster in Congress?

Just like 2 more years of Paul Hodes!

Enough is enough!

NRSC - Portsmouth Herald - Poll: Senate nearly a sure thing for Ayotte

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20101027-NEWS-10270395

Poll: Senate nearly a sure thing for Ayotte

Portsmouth Herald

By Deborah McDermott

October 27, 2010

Barring any last-minute glitches, it's looking very likely that Republican Kelly Ayotte will be the next U.S. senator from New Hampshire, political analysts said.

"Unless she makes a major error, I think she'll win it," said Michael Dupre, senior research fellow at the N.H. Institute for Politics at Saint Anselm College. "She's above the fray. I think her campaign is just going to let her ride at this point."

The University of New Hampshire Survey Center released its last poll Oct. 14 for the race between Ayotte, the former state attorney general, and Democrat Paul Hodes, the current congressman from the state's 2nd District. That poll of 709 likely voters gives Ayotte the edge, 50 percent to 35 percent over Hodes, with 12 percent undecided.

Andrew Smith, director of the Survey Center, said one more set of polls will be released Sunday, but he's not anticipating any major shifts.

"It's a strong Republican year, and they're energized to get out to vote. Democrats are dispirited. You see in New Hampshire what you see across the country," he said.

Smith said he thinks several factors contributed to Hodes' polling numbers. For one, he said, Ayotte had already come out of a competitive primary season having a campaign in place and a message, while Hodes had no competition in the primary.

"She ran a hard primary and she pulled it off. She's battle-tested. Hodes didn't have that. He wasn't forced to put together a good organization early on, and she had that advantage over him," he said.

Dean Spiliotes of NHPoliticalCapital.com said, "Unfortunately," Hodes' campaign just never really materialized.

"The race didn't turn out to be the competitive one we thought it would be after the primary," he said, adding issues such as Ayotte's role in handling the criminal investigation of mortgage broker Financial Resources Mortgage Inc. never stuck with voters.

Further, the analysts all agreed, the poll suggests Democrats themselves are not wowed by Hodes.

"There's not a deep well of support for him. He hasn't captured the imagination of the Democrats," Spiliotes said.

"And at this point, even if you came out with something (against Ayotte), strategically, you're looking at a lot of white noise," Dupre said.

Moreover, said Smith, people seem to like Ayotte, which is not atypical of attorneys general who run for office.

"They prosecute bad guys and lock them up. People like that," he said.

Dupre agreed. "She's likeable — and she hasn't made any mistakes."

NRSC - ICYMI AP: NH GOP file new push-polling complaint

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2010/10/21/nh_gop_to_file_new_push_polling_complaint/

NH GOP file new push-polling complaint

Associated Press

By Holly Ramer

October 21, 2010

CONCORD, N.H.—The New Hampshire Republican Party has filed a complaint accusing Democrats of conducting a push poll against Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte that does not contain the required disclosures.

GOP spokesman Ryan Williams filed a complaint Thursday with the attorney general's office against the state Democratic Party and Ayotte's opponent, Democrat Paul Hodes. Several voters have complained that they got calls aimed at spreading negative information about Ayotte and weren't told who was paying for them.

Both Hodes' campaign and the Democratic Party say the survey included the proper disclosure.

Last week, a pollster working for Hodes agreed to pay a $20,000 fine for conducting an illegal push poll against Ayotte in July.

NRSC - NH Taxpayers Continue To Foot Bill For Hodes' Extreme Agenda In Washington

Hodes’ Broken Promise On Health Care Costs, Failure To Regulate Fannie, Freddie, Slams Granite State Taxpayers

WASHINGTON – Two new reports reveal that New Hampshire’s families and job creators continue to pay a massive price for embattled U.S. Representative Paul Hodes’ (D-NH) extreme partisan agenda in Washington—including “sharply higher” health care costs and hundreds of billions of dollars in new bailouts.

Yet again, voters are reminded of Hodes’ broken promise that his costly, unpopular health care overhaul would lower costs as CNN reports that “Employees' share of premiums for a family plan is up an average 14%, to $3,997, vs. just a 3% rise in the total bill, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. And it's not just premiums that are spiraling higher. You're also likely to be hit with higher deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums as well as bigger bills for doctor's visits and drugs.”

And Granite State families and small businesses will once again be forced to pay for massive bailouts in the wake of Hodes’ politically-motivated decision not to include government-run mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in his financial regulation bill.  The Washington Post reports that “The federal bailout for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could more than double in size during the next three years, according to projections from the companies' federal regulator. Fannie and Freddie… will likely need at least another $73 billion and perhaps as much $215 billion from taxpayers in the next three years to meet their financial obligations, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.”

“Hodes promised his massive health care overhaul would lower costs, but today New Hampshire families are being slammed with huge 14 percent premium hikes.  And because Hodes and his party bosses played partisan politics with financial regulations, Granite State taxpayers are now on the hook for billions more in bailouts,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Press Secretary Amber Marchand.  “Today’s reports prove once again that New Hampshire simply cannot afford more of Paul Hodes’ extreme partisan agenda in Washington.”