Three incumbent Republicans targeted by Koch-funded organization lose primaries, most survive
Three of the incumbent Republican lawmakers who went down to defeat in Tuesday’s primary election had been targeted by Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brothers-funded free market advocacy organization.
At least 14 Republican House legislators had been singled out by the conservative group for their votes opposing Right to Work legislation and favoring Medicaid expansion. As a 501©4 “social welfare” organization, AFP is not required to publicly disclose its political expenditures or the donors who fund it.
State Reps. Thomas Cardon (R-Derry), James Devine (R-Sandown) and Susan Emerson (R-Rindge) were among the ten incumbent House lawmakers, all Republicans, who were defeated in primary races. Each was on the receiving end of an AFP campaign against them that included glossy mailers, door hangers distributed by grassroots volunteers and social media attacks.
When the attacks began, Cardon wrote a letter to the editor of the Derry News explaining his votes on Medicaid expansion and Right to Work. “I don’t always vote to the far right but I do have a proven record of being a fiscal conservative,” the one-term lawmaker wrote. “When I do vote I always do what I think is right for Derry and New Hampshire.”
Emerson, who is serving her seventh term in the House, was also targeted by conservative groups in 2012. “This negative stuff just gets very depressing,” she told Kevin Landrigan after winning her primary that year. “I hope the voters get so tired of it that they reject it.”
Speaker Jasper survives
Despite the barrage of negative advertising, at least 11 House members who came under attack from the group survived their primaries. The most high profile AFP target was House Speaker Shawn Jasper, who was criticized for his tie-breaking vote that allowed Medicaid reauthorization to move forward. Jasper survived his primary by finishing eighth among the 17 candidates. The top 11 finishers will move on to the general election in November.
Last month, Jasper got a bit of payback when he stepped in and prevented AFP from using the Legislative Office Building for a candidate pledge event. “It is inappropriate for any group that is going to involve itself in canvassing for or against candidates of the House or Senate to have use of the legislative facilities,” he told Ladrigan. “It’s just not right. Those rooms ought not be politicized.”
Other House lawmakers who emerged victorious despite the AFP campaign against them included Reps. David Danielson (R-Bedford), Fred Doucette (R-Salem), Dennis Fields (R-Sanbornton), Joseph Guthrie (R-Hampstead), Joseph Lachance (R-Manchester), Carolyn Matthews (R-Raymond), David Pierce (R-Goffstown), Mark Proulx (R-Manchester) and Steven Woitkun (R-Danville).
Gone but not forgotten
Also among the defeated House incumbents are two lawmakers who made national headlines during their legislative careers.
Rep. Lars Christiansen, who finished out of the money in the crowded Hudson primary, made news in 2013 by sponsoring “13th Amendment truther” legislation that would have had the state declare an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Titles of Nobility Amendment, was properly ratified and then swept under the rug in a vast governmental conspiracy.
Before that, he cast a cloud over then-Speaker Bill O’Brien’s newly revived Redress of Grievances Committee, when he filed a petition on behalf of a man who confessed and was convicted on 69 counts of felonious sexual assault on a female relative under age 13.
“Our corporate courts are not doing a very good job,” he told the Concord Monitor. “We’ll see whether we can straighten them out.”
Rep. Katherine Prudhomme-O'Brien lost her primary after finishing 14th among 18 Republican candidates in Derry. She was once labeled “New Hampshire’s most annoying voter” by New Republic for challenging presidential candidates with personal questions during campaign events.
She asked Rudy Giuliani about family members who were not supporting his campaign and confronted Al Gore over Bill Clinton’s sexual behavior. This year, she repeatedly interrupted Hillary Clinton during a town hall meeting in Derry while attempting to ask a similar question. “You are very rude,” Clinton eventually replied, “and I’m not ever going to call on you.”