GOP state senator defends Democratic nominee, blasts negative Republican mailer
Outgoing state Sen. Nancy Stiles, the Hampton Republican who declined to seek a fourth term, has blasted a negative mailer from Republican Dan Innis and defended Democrat Rep. Tom Sherman.
The mailer, which hit District 24 mailboxes on Thursday, questioned Sherman’s record on women’s health care for his work on legislation that would have required the state to collect abortion data.
In an op-ed published in the Portsmouth Herald, Stiles corrected the record with the “true story” of the bill’s legislative history and defended Sherman’s efforts. “Tom Sherman being a medical doctor is probably the last person of the 424 legislators that would put any roadblocks interfering with adequate health care for any of New Hampshire’s citizens,” she wrote.
Stiles criticized Innis for personally distributing the misleading mailer. “Most disturbing to me is that this flyer was paid for by the Senate District 24 candidate’s own PAC,” she wrote. “Comparative voting is one thing but misconstrued information to negatively influence the voter does nothing to inform the voter that the sender has any qualities to offer.”
Stiles has not explicitly endorsed either candidate but she praised Sherman for his bipartisan work in the House. “I have worked closely across party lines with Rep. Sherman over the last four years,” she wrote. “I have come to know him as a staunch defender of women’s health rights. I have also found him to be one of the legislators who is willing to work with other legislators no matter which party to find common ground that actually produces better legislation.”