Public Policy Polling calls the New Hampshire gubernatorial race a “toss up,” with Democrats Jackie Cilley and Maggie Hassan both basically tied with Republican Ovide Lamontagne.
In the primary battles, Lamontagne has opened up a wide 53-13 lead over challenger Kevin Smith. Hassan leads Cilley 23-20 but PPP says the Democratic primary “looks pretty wide open” with 57% of voters undecided.
Exciting news - President Obama just announced that he supports marriage equality for same-sex couples! This is a historic moment, and I hope that New Hampshire can serve as a model for the rest of the country in acknowledging and celebrating marriage equality.
— Ann Kuster, 2nd District Congressional candidate
I thank President Obama for standing up for marriage equality and for what is right. So proud that New Hampshire has been a leader in this fight and that all Granite Staters are free to marry.
— Maggie Hassan, Gubernatorial candidate
Wonderful to hear that President Obama supports what we in #NH were proud to establish in 2009 and defend this year, #MarriageEquality
— Jackie Cilley, Gubernatorial candidate
Great political courage, and a wonderful statement of support for the American ideal of freedom. New Hampshire Governor John Lynch did it three years ago, Vice President Joe Biden did it three days ago, and now President Barack Obama. “…with liberty and justice for all!”
— Jim Splaine, former state Representative
President Obama’s statements this afternoon in support of marriage equality mark a watershed moment in this deeply important civil rights issue. As the highest-ranking openly gay member of the Democratic National Committee, serving as Vice-Chair, I applaud the President’s support for marriage equality and wholeheartedly stand with him and the countless others across New Hampshire and the nation who have fought to ensure equal rights for all.
— Ray Buckley, New Hampshire Democratic Party chair
The two major Democratic gubernatorial candidates are leading both Republican opponents in head-to-head match-ups. Today’s WMUR Granite State Poll indicates, though, that all four candidates are relatively unknown and large numbers of voters have yet to decide.
Democrat Maggie Hassand leads Ovide Lamontagne among likely voters by 34%-29% margin with 36% undecided and bests Kevin Smith 29%-24% with 46% undecided. Fellow Democrat Jackie Cilley edges Lamontagne 31%-30% with 38% undecided and leads Smith 30%-23% with 47% undecided.
Andrew Smith, Director of the UNH Survey Center reviews the numbers and concludes, “These candidates are not even very well-known among their own party.” Hassan, Cilley and Smith are unknown to more than 80% of New Hampshire voters. Voters are only slightly more familiar with Lamontagne who is unknown to 54% of voters.
Hassan and Cilley are equally well-known, and well-liked, by Democratic voters. Hassan has a +18% net favorability rating among registered Democrats (20% favorable, 2% unfavorable). Cilley’s favorability rating among Democrats is an almost identical +17% (20% favorable, 3% unfavorable).
Lamontagne has a name recognition advantage over Smith in their battle for the GOP nomination. 39% of registered Republicans have a favorable opinion of Lamontagne compared to 8% who have an unfavorable opinion. Smith is much less well-known, with 9% of Republicans saying they like him and 5% saying they don’t.
The Granite State Poll is sponsored by WMUR-TV and conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. The results are based on telephone interviews of 538 adults with a margin of error of +/- 4.2% and a subsample of 486 likely voters with a margin of error of +/- 4.4%. The survey was conducted on April 9-20, 2012 on landline and cellular telephones.
Reactions to passage of House Bill 1546, which would grant employers with a “religious objection” the right to exclude birth control and contraceptive services from employee medical insurance coverage. The vote was 196-150, more than enough opposition votes to sustain a gubernatorial veto should the Senate concur.
I never thought that in 2012 the New Hampshire Legislature would be debating the use of contraceptives. This issue is settled for Granite Staters.
— House Democratic Leader Terie Norelli
Allowing employers to decide what’s best for women’s reproductive health is outrageous. Who can imagine going to a job interview and having to ask a prospective employer whether or not they allow female employees access to contraception?
— Laura Thibault, NARAL Pro-Choice NH
My Republicans colleagues are using the banner of religious freedom as a way to mask their blatant attacks on women’s health rights.
— Rep. Chris Serlin, Constitutional Review Committee
This is more extreme than any similar proposal anywhere in the country. It turns back the clock on a dozen years of bipartisan support for a law that guarantees women have access to contraception, and all at the taxpayers’ expense.
— Jackie Cilley, Democratic gubernatorial candidate
Speaker O’Brien’s Tea Party legislature has ignored the needs of New Hampshire women who simply ask for access to basic health care. This unbelievable assault on women has to stop.
— Maggie Hassan, Democratic gubernatorial candidate
Gary Hirshberg, who declared in November that he would not be a candidate for governor this year, left that door open today.
This morning, Hirshberg announced he is stepping down as Stonyfield CEO. He had previously cited his responsibility for the 500 employees and families at Stonyfield as a key reason for not entering the race.
In an interview with James Pindell, Hirshberg said he will be watching the race with interest.
“I doubt I will change my mind,” Hirshberg said. “But I will be watching the race for governor closely over the next few months. With all due respect to those candidates already running, the governor’s race only really began yesterday, the day after the primary, and there is still a lot of time for someone else to get in.”
In November, Hirshberg criticized the gubernatorial candidates from both parties, saying no one had produced a “business plan” for the state.
“I know what (Republican candidate) Ovide [Lamontagne] is against, but I don’t know what he is for,” said Hirshberg. “I know what (Democratic candidate) Maggie [Hassan] is against, but I don’t know what she is for.”
If Hirshberg does become a candidate, it will have a dramatic impact on the race. Pindell believes Hirshberg’s deep pockets, history of job creation and brand of progressive politics “would allow him to basically walk away with the Democratic nomination.”
They are really unraveling every bit of the social compact that we have come, not only to count on, but have come to believe is the right thing for us to be doing. So the ladder that many of us worked our way up into the middle class, every rung of that ladder is being broken. …
So he wants to take us backwards and let everybody be on their own. What I want to do, what Democrats have always done, is say that we’re stronger and better together and we can move forward that way.
— Maggie Hassan, Democratic gubernatorial candidate on House Speaker Bill O’Brien and the New Hampshire legislature.
During the contentious House debate over the state budget last spring, Speaker O’Brien cleared the House gallery and locked the public out. Opponents decried the act as unconstitutional. The state Constitution does seem pretty unambiguous:
“The doors of the galleries, of each house of the legislature, shall be kept open to all persons who behave decently, except when the welfare of the state, in the opinion of either branch, shall require secrecy.”
Not so, says Speaker O’Brien. In a response to a lawsuit filied by former state Sens. Maggie Hassan and Bette Lasky, O’Brien and House Counsel Ed Mosca argue the Speaker has the authority to prohibit public access to legislative sessions any time he chooses.
His argument? The State House was built after the Constitution was written, therefore galleries can’t refer to today’s Statehouse galleries. Seriously.
Mosca notes that Part II, Article 8 was written in 1792. The State House wasn’t built until 1819. ”Thus, the voters who passed Part II, Article 8 could not have understood it to specifically refer to the portions of the present Statehouse which we call the House gallery and the Senate gallery,” Mosca wrote.
And besides, O’Brien argues, the House balcony doesn’t even meet the dictionary definition of the term “gallery” at the time.
The definition reads: “A kind of walk along the floor of a house, into which the doors of the apartments open; the upper seats in a church; the seats in a playhouse above the pit.”
Responds Hassan:
“It doesn’t appear to me that he is taking the issue very seriously.”
On Blue Hampshire, former State Rep. Jim Splaine, longtime observer of the Granite State political scene, takes a look at the emerging race for the 2012 Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Splaine believes Gov. John Lynch should run and can win big. If Lynch chooses not to run, Splaine lists the leading contenders.
Mark Fernald. [H]e has spoken and written about the needs of our state more and more during these past few months. He’s older and wiser. He’d be a tough competitor. If he can come across on the campaign trail as a more mellowed “professor type” than he was almost a decade ago, he could do it.
Steve Marchand. This guy is fun. He has a friendly, welcoming way to him, even when you disagree with him. … He knows campaigns, understands fundraising, has a message already thought out, and he’s networking every day… And I haven’t talked with a candidate who has such a “can-do” determination since my first meeting with Carol Shea-Porter
Mark Connolly. If he can work the timing out, and if he can do the catch-up that he has to do, he could go all the way. One-on-one he looks you right in the eye. At the podium he exudes his confidence. His ability to absorb issues is impressive. I think his integrity is beyond question. His caring about people is obvious.
Maggie Hassan. She’s smart, quick on her feet, a hard-worker, and determined. … I much admire Maggie’s intensity…. I could get excited about her chances. And she probably generates more excitement among Democratic interest groups than any of the other potential candidates.
Jackie Cilley. She knows issues well, and while in the legislature she made her voice and idealism heard in committees and on the floor. … She might not have the networking and fundraising capabilities of some other candidates, but she would fill those gaps with enthusiasm and intelligence. Many of us could get excited about her in 2012.
A progressive perspective on New Hampshire politics and other oddities.
William Tucker is an architect in Portsmouth.
