Sen. Andy Sanborn and the Free Staters
On October 16, the chairman of the Free State Project had a question for his Facebook friends. “Who has access to Nexus Lexus and is interested in helping on research regarding a vile political candidate?” asked Aaron Day.
One week later, a website attacking Democratic state Senate candidate Lee Nyquist made its debut. Liberalleenyquist.com is hosted on the same server that hosts sites for Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire and Stark360 PAC – two other libertarian groups Day leads. Nyquist’s opponent, Sen. Andy Sanborn (R-Bedford) paid for the site.
The “Liberal Lee Nyquist” site levels a number of charges against the New Boston lawyer who is in a heated rematch with Sanborn for the District 9 Senate seat. “Lee Nyquist believes public service should mean private profit,” reads one accusation. “Trial Lawyer Lee Nyquist started his career by getting a would-be cop killer off on technicalities,” says another. The site is festooned with large images from the series of negative mail pieces that have flooded District 9 mailboxes.
The case for Day’s involvement with the Liberal Lee Nyquist website is circumstantial. But even before the site appeared, WMUR’s James Pindell was reporting that Sanborn’s re-election bid could be jeopardized as Bedford Republicans jump ship over Sanborn’s “refusal to distance himself from new libertarian elements in town.”
Day and fellow FSP board member Matt Philips have been dogged by controversy since moving to Bedford. Earlier this year, Day finished fourth in a four person race for the Bedford School Board and Philips lost an election for town council. In September, both failed to garner enough votes to become delegates to the Republican state convention.
The Republican Liberty Caucus has endorsed Sanborn though it would seem to be a marriage of convenience. Yes, Sanborn describes himself as a “liberty candidate.” Yes, he was the New Hampshire co-chair for Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign. But Sanborn also attacked an opponent for proposing reforms to allow non-violent offenders to avoid prison time, his business benefited from a $600,000 state loan guarantee and he made national headlines when he threatened a constituent who sought his support for legalizing marijuana.