United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire, 2006
Encyclopedia
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
has historically been a stronghold of the Republican Party, although the common political tradition has been likened to that of the Libertarian Party. Both congressional seats are usually held by Republicans, in addition to most state and local offices. However, New Hampshire gave its four electoral votes to John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
in 2004 and to Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
in 1992 and 1996. Democratic Governor John Lynch, who defeated incumbent Republican Governor Craig Benson
Craig Benson
Craig R. Benson is an American politician and businessman. He served as Governor of New Hampshire from 2003 to 2005...
in 2004, is widely popular and defeated his Republican opponent, Jim Coburn
Jim Coburn
James B. "Jim" Coburn is an entrepreneur, former New Hampshire state representative, and a former Republican candidate for Governor of New Hampshire...
, in 2006
New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2006
The 2006 New Hampshire gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat John Lynch defeated Republican James B. Coburn and won a second term as Governor of New Hampshire.-Results:-Candidates:...
. As a result, New Hampshire is commonly classified by the media as a tossup or battleground state in many federal elections. In this particular election, Democrats were not initially expected to unseat the Republican incumbents Jeb Bradley
Jeb Bradley
Joseph E. "Jeb" Bradley is a Republican member of the New Hampshire State Senate, currently serving as Senate Majority Leader. He represents his hometown of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire and 16 other towns in east-central New Hampshire. He was formerly a U.S...
(NH-1) and Charlie Bass (NH-2). However, first district Democratic candidate Carol Shea-Porter and second district Democratic candidate Paul Hodes
Paul Hodes
Paul Hodes is an attorney, musician, and the former U.S. Representative for , serving fom 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was New Hampshire's first Jewish representative....
raised significant funds and ran more aggressive campaigns than in the past. Also, third-party candidates were seen as having little or no influence on the outcome election. In a surprising upset, both Bass and Bradley were unseated by Hodes and Shea-Porter respectively on election day. Since January 2007, Democrats have held both New Hampshire House seats for the first time since 1915.
First district
Jeb Bradley
Joseph E. "Jeb" Bradley is a Republican member of the New Hampshire State Senate, currently serving as Senate Majority Leader. He represents his hometown of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire and 16 other towns in east-central New Hampshire. He was formerly a U.S...
sought a third term. In a surprise upset victory in the Democratic primaries, Rochester
Rochester, New Hampshire
Rochester is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 29,752. The city includes the villages of East Rochester and Gonic. Rochester is home to Skyhaven Airport and the annual Rochester Fair....
Democratic chair Carol Shea-Porter defeated the better funded and party-favored state House Democratic Leader Jim Craig, getting 54% of the vote to Craig's 34%. Bradley is a fiscal conservative
Fiscal conservatism
Fiscal conservatism is a political term used to describe a fiscal policy that advocates avoiding deficit spending. Fiscal conservatives often consider reduction of overall government spending and national debt as well as ensuring balanced budget of paramount importance...
who supports reduction in taxes and spending. Shea-Porter supports a Medicare
Medicare (United States)
Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
for All program and increased federal funding for education. Unlike her opponent, she disagrees with President Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on foreign policy issues and the War in Iraq. In 2004, this was the only Congressional District in New England that President Bush carried.
Polls conducted over the course of the campaign showed Bradley in mid-September holding a 25% lead over Shea-Porter. The trend over the next six weeks, however, showed that lead shrinking. Just prior to election day Bradley was favored over Shea-Porter by just 5%, within the 5% margin of error. .
Despite those polling trends, and the shift toward Democratic candidates seen nationwide in 2006, Shea-Porter's victory over Bradley was described by many as "surprising" and an "upset." .
When the votes were counted, Shea-Porter was declared victorious with 51% of the vote to Bradley's 49%.
Candidates
- Republican: Jeb BradleyJeb BradleyJoseph E. "Jeb" Bradley is a Republican member of the New Hampshire State Senate, currently serving as Senate Majority Leader. He represents his hometown of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire and 16 other towns in east-central New Hampshire. He was formerly a U.S...
- Incumbent - Democratic: Carol Shea-Porter
- Libertarian: Dan Belforti
Results
Second district
Fiscal conservatism
Fiscal conservatism is a political term used to describe a fiscal policy that advocates avoiding deficit spending. Fiscal conservatives often consider reduction of overall government spending and national debt as well as ensuring balanced budget of paramount importance...
. Bass also embraces environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
and pro-choice politics
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
.
He easily defeated primary challenges from Berlin
Berlin, New Hampshire
Berlin is a city along the Androscoggin River in Coos County in northern New Hampshire, United States. The population was 10,051 at the 2010 census. It includes the village of Cascade. Located on the edge of the White Mountains, the city's boundaries extend into the White Mountain National Forest...
Mayor Bob Danderson and 9/11 critic and constitutionalist Mary Maxwell. The Democratic nominee was 2004 challenger Paul Hodes
Paul Hodes
Paul Hodes is an attorney, musician, and the former U.S. Representative for , serving fom 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was New Hampshire's first Jewish representative....
, an attorney. Hodes is a strong critic of the Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
, supporting issues such as universal healthcare, deficit reduction, the raising of the minimum wage
Minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
, and an immediate withdrawal of National Guard and Reserve troops from Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
In late September, a top Bass staffer resigned after news broke that a US Government computer from Bass's DC office had been posting anonymous concern troll messages to NH blogs. In these messages, "IndyNH" claimed to be a supporter of Paul Hodes who was discouraged by Bass's unbeatable lead and urged other Hodes supporters to turn their efforts to other, more winnable races.
The Bass-Hodes matchup was considered more competitive than that of Bradley and Shea-Porter, since voters in the 2nd district have sided with the Republican Party less consistently in recent years. Additionally, Hodes surpassed his opponent in funds. Therefore, the 2006 election was predicted to be a great deal closer than Bass's easy win in 2004. Initially, Bass maintained early leads over Hodes in most non-partisan polls, ranging from just 7-points in one poll to 27-points in another. However, as the election drew nearer, polls indicated either a slight Hodes lead or a general tossup. Just before election day, Hodes pulled in front of Bass in numerous polls. On election day at 10:30pm, Charlie Bass conceded defeat to Paul Hodes, who garnered 53% of the vote as opposed to 45% for Bass.
Candidates
- Republican: Charlie Bass - Incumbent
- Democratic: Paul HodesPaul HodesPaul Hodes is an attorney, musician, and the former U.S. Representative for , serving fom 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was New Hampshire's first Jewish representative....
- Libertarians: Ken Blevens, Chet LaPointe