Dems Start 'Corky Cam'; More Polls: NH Patch Political Roundup

Tony Schinella
Updated ·7 min read

CONCORD, NH — More polls have been released showing solid results for incumbent officeholders in New Hampshire.

An Emerson College/7News poll released Thursday showed Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, as well as Democrat U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, with leads over their opponents.

Sununu, according to the poll, had a 15-point lead against state Sen. Dan Feltes, a Democrat, which is a bit closer than the 27 percent lead reported earlier this week in the University of Massachusetts-Lowell poll. But for Bryant "Corky" Messner, a Republican challenging Shaheen, the numbers are about the same: The Emerson College/7News poll shows Shaheen with a 15 percent lead, too. The U-Mass/Lowell poll gave her a 17-point lead.

Vice President Joe Biden also has a 7 percent lead over President Donald Trump. But the pollsters noted there is an enthusiasm gap is seen between the presidential candidates with three-quarters of Trump voters saying they are "extremely excited" to vote for him compared to only 45 percent of Biden voters saying they were extremely excited. But there is not much room for growth for the incumbent.

The poll surveyed slightly more Democrats than Republicans — 13, about 2 percent, with indies making up more than 38 percent of those polled.

UNH's Survey Center also released a new survey of 1,030 Granite State Panel members including 972 likely voters which showed the race between Sununu and Feltes tightening a bit but giving the governor an 18-point lead. Libertarian Darryl Perry and don't know/not sure received 4 percent each.

In the Senate race, UNH showed Shaheen with a 13 percent lead over Messner with Justin O'Donnell, the Libertarian candidate, receiving 3 percent.

U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, the 1st Congressional District Democrat, in the survey, when "leaners" were included in the poll, shows an 18 percent lead over Matt Mowers, the Republican candidate, with Zachary Dumont, earning 2 percent.

The 2nd Congressional District race, however, is much closer: U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, the incumbent Democrat, polled with 48 percent while Steve Negron, the Republican, earned 42 percent. Libertarian A.J. Olding polled at 5 percent.

Kuster easily beat Negron in 2018 by nearly 38,000 votes or 13.3 percent of the vote and the district was gerrymandered to be a "safe Democrat" seat after the 2010 Census so to see the race so tight at this point is surprising.

And Negron was clearly buoyed by the poll — especially 42 percent of those polled offering an unfavorable rating of Kuster's work in the Congress.

"It is clear that the voters of the second congressional district are sick and tired of the hyper-partisan, divisive agenda that Rep. Kuster and Speaker Pelosi bring to New Hampshire," Negron said. "She is ripping New Hampshire apart by crippling our law enforcement and silencing our small state voice. We will continue to work every day until NH's voice is heard and we send career politician Ann Kuster into her long-awaited retirement."

The survey center panel breaks down pretty evenly on representation — 419 Republicans, 417 Democrats, and 164 Indies.

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'Corky Cam' To Feature Colorado Instagram Posts

The New Hampshire Democratic Party have launched a new project attacking Messner.

"Corky Cam: Secret Photos of a Colorado Carpetbagger" hopes to share a visual trail of Messner from his long-time roots in Colorado "across the country to try and buy New Hampshire's Senate seat," the party said. During the next month, the party will be sharing photos presenting "Corky’s deep Colorado roots to his hypocrisy on private jets and his blatant charity fraud scam" which is all posted on Instagram.

The party will tag its posts with #CorkyCam so that voters can follow along.

Governor Releases New Ad: 'Jason'

Sununu's new ad features Martha and Paul Dickey, whose son, Jason, took his own life. This led legislative leaders and the governor to approve SB 282, a bill requiring suicide prevention training for educators.

Here is the ad:

The bill is part of a number of initiatives by the governor and Legislature including mobile crisis response, a 10-year mental health plan, a school safety task force, lifelines and hotlines, and more.

Flying Dog Poop Leads To Arrest, Charges

A Manchester man has been arrested after being accused of throwing dog feces at a Manchester home with a Trump 2020 flag.

William Connery III, pictured, 37, of West River Drive in Manchester was arrested and charged with criminal threatening-graffiti and unlawful activities; litter control.

According to a Queen City landlord, one of his tenants asked if they could put a Trump flag on the porch of their apartment. The landlord said, so long as the other tenants did not have a problem with it, it was OK with him.

"They put up a flag and a day after, bagged dog feces kept being thrown all over the home," the landlord said. "Initially I thought I was a prank by some kids. However, after two weeks straight of feces being all over the yard, and even on the roof, I knew there was intent behind it."

The landlord repositioned security cameras on the building, and after many days, the cameras got the vehicle, a Subaru with a "Feel the Burn" Bernie Sanders for President and "Dump Trump" poop emoji bumper stickers, and someone inside, tossing a bag onto the lawn — something the landlord found ironic, considering the Trump poop sticker.

The case, according to court paperwork, is still making its way through court.

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Endorsements

  • President Barack Obama has endorsed Feltes as well as a number of other gubernatorial candidates across the country. He said in a statement, "They're dedicated to shoring up and strengthening our democracy, a project that’s going to take time and require all of us — but it begins by electing Democrats right now. So give these candidates your vote — and vote early if you can, either by mail or in person."

  • Mowers received the endorsement of the Susan B. Anthony List's Candidate Fund PAC calling him "a strong leader who has what it takes to stand up to abortion extremists and defend our Constitution," according to Marilyn Musgrave, the org's vice president of governmental affairs.

  • The National Federal of Independent Business Friday endorsed Denise Ricciardi, the Republican in the District 9 state Senate race to represent Bedford and other communities in the western part of the state. The org's state director, Bruce Berke, said she had "taken the time to learn about small business issues" and "understands the challenges of the small business person on Main Streets and throughout the district while having an appreciation for both the highs and lows entrepreneurs experience on a daily basis."

  • Paul Halvorsen, the Republican in the Merrimack County Attorney's race, was endorsed by the New Hampshire Trooper's Association. On Facebook the org said, "Paul is a well respected attorney in the Concord area, and we look forward to working with him when he is elected."

  • Cinde Warmington, the Democrat nominee for the District 2 Executive Council seat, which represents Concord, received an endorsement from EMILY's List. Sarah Curmi, interim vice president of state and local campaigns at EMILY’s List, said as a working mom, health care attorney, and local activist, "Cinde will fight every day to protect and expand access to health care and reproductive rights in the Granite State."

Speaking Of Sanders ... He's Coming Back To New Hampshire

The winner of the state's first-in-the-nation in 2016 and 2020, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, returns to New Hampshire for a "Vote Now" socially distanced rally in Lebanon Saturday at 3 p.m.

"Sanders and participants will highlight all the ways Granite State voters can vote in this election, including voting in-person absentee now at their local clerk’s office, dropping off their absentee ballots at their local clerk’s office, voting by mail, or voting in-person on Election Day," the Biden for President campaign said Friday.

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This article originally appeared on the Concord Patch