Sununu Looks to New Opponent
WASHINGTON, Sept. 01–After narrowly defeating incumbent Senator Bob Smith Tuesday in one of the more heated Republican primaries in recent memory, U.S. Rep. John Sununu now must dramatically shift the focus of his Senate campaign to the Democratic candidate, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen.
Because Sununu shared many political views with his primary opponent, his campaign focused on Smith’s alleged lack of loyalty to the GOP and generational differences between the 38-year-old Sununu and the 61-year-old Smith.
The Sununu campaign now is likely to draw attention to perceived weaknesses in Shaheen’s six-year tenure as governor.
The New Hampshire Republican Party has given Sununu a head start.
“The GOP was active all summer running ads against Shaheen while Sununu was busy with Smith,” said Linda Fowler, director of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College.
The ads have been attacking the governor for failing to find a permanent school-funding fix, for failing to deal with high property taxes and for previously endorsing a state sales tax. The state House rejected the idea.
State GOP leaders say Shaheen’s inability to resolve such problems speak to her ineffectiveness as a governor “Her failure to solve those problems or to be effective is definitely going to be an issue in the campaign,” said Julie Teer, communications director for the state Republican Party. “This is a governor who’s shown nothing but a lack of leadership in the six years she’s been in office.”
But Democratic supporters say it’s exactly Shaheen’s leadership that most sets her apart from three-term Rep. Sununu, who has been criticized as being a “yes-man” for Republican Congressional leaders and for the Bush administration.
“I do think there’s a question of [Sununu’s] priorities,” said Colin Van Ostern, communications director for Shaheen. “For the last six months he’s said over and over again he hasn’t done anything that’s not in the best interest of the Republican Party.”
Van Ostern said Shaheen’s record has shown that she is a leader, willing to ignore party lines to pursue the best interests of New Hampshire’s people.
Fowler of the Rockefeller Center said Sununu’s ties to the Republican Party at the national level would probably bring plenty of financial support, something Sununu badly needs, as his most recently reported fundraising levels were far lower than Shaheen’s.
The Center for Responsive Politics reports that Shaheen raised over $3.2 million for her campaign, doubling Sununu’s total of $1.6 million. As of Aug. 21, Sununu had spent $1.1 million, leaving over $480,000 in cash on hand, while Shaheen spent $1.8 million, leaving over $1.4 million, according to the center.
Despite the current numbers, few expect Sununu to have any problems raising more money. “I have no doubt he’ll get all the support he’ll need from Washington,” Van Ostern said. “We expect [Shaheen] to be outspent.”
Fowler said Sununu’s father’s national influence as a former New Hampshire governor and White House chief of staff will help his cause. “His name will certainly ensure that he’s going to have a lot of money,” she said.
But she added that Republican incumbents across the country are generally facing more difficult re-election campaigns than Democrats, meaning popular Republicans may not be able to travel to the state to help Sununu.
But Republican leaders say they are committed to helping the GOP retain the New Hampshire seat in any way they can. “Being 50 to 49 in the Senate, we can’t afford not to pay attention,” said Dan Allen, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “We’re going to ensure that Sununu has the resources he needs to get his the message out.”
Critics say that Sununu, a newcomer to politics in 1996, has yet to prove himself in a difficult election.
He defeated a weak Democratic challenger, Peter Flood, in 1998. Two years later, he narrowly defeated Democratic newcomer Martha Fuller Clark with 53 percent of the vote.
Fowler said that after analyzing those races, she had some questions about Sununu. “I just thought, ‘Does this guy really know how to run a tight race?’” Tuesday’s primary was clearly the most difficult battle in Sununu’s young political life, and Fowler said the heated race might have given him the experience he needed to be an effective candidate.
“Now he seems to be much more effective,” she said. “I think he just learned.”
Recent polls have indicated that Sununu holds a slight edge over Shaheen, something that may have encouraged Republican voters to back Sununu in the primary.
However, Democrats say polls can be misleading. “Polls in late August have her down one point, so there’s no question it’s a dead heat,” Van Ostern said. “But there’s really only one poll that matters, and that’s in November.”
Published in Foster’s Daily Democrat, in New Hampshire.
