State House Dome: GOP Gov Sununu praises Dem candidate Warmington

Aug. 19—WHO WOULD HAVE expected Gov. Chris Sununu, a four-term Republican, to heap praise on a Democratic candidate to succeed him?

That's what happened last week. Sununu told Good Morning New Hampshire radio talk show host Jack Heath that Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington would be "formidable" if she is the Democratic nominee next fall.

"I love Manchester, it's a great city, but Mayor Joyce Craig's policies have been a disaster," Sununu said.

As for Warmington, Sununu said she's "smart and does her homework" at the council table.

Warmington has earned the respect of Sununu and the other four councilors, all Republicans, by seeking common ground at times and avoiding hyper-partisanship.

On the other hand, Craig and Sununu have been going after one another for years on multiple fronts, from the state's support for homeless to the education aid formula.

We obtained a memo Warmington sent to key supporters last week that made the case for why she would have the best chance of taking back the corner office from the GOP.

"Cinde is the only candidate running for governor in either party who has never lost an election. She won two contested primaries and two general elections, defeating a total of nine candidates," the memo said.

"In each of her elections for Executive Council, close to 80,000 voters cast a ballot for Cinde — that's more than six times as many voters as the roughly 12,000 who voted for Craig in each of her local elections in Manchester.

"Moreover, Cinde is the only battle-tested Democrat who has been going toe-to-toe with Chris Sununu every other week for the past three years, standing up for core Democratic values as the lone voice for Democrats across the state on the Executive Council."

Warmington's camp also released a poll from Public Policy Polling that had Craig leading Warmington, 20% to 15%, with 65% undecided.

Craig IDs more backers

Craig continues to ramp up her campaign.

She released another 160 endorsements from current and former elected officials, adding to the list of 70 prominent Democrats who came out for Craig when she announced her candidacy in April.

Warmington's backers number nearly 150.

This latest group of Craig supporters includes DNC Committee Member Joanne Dowdell of Portsmouth; State Sens. Debra Altschiller of Stratham, Rebecca Perkins-Kwoka of Portsmouth and David Watters of Dover; ex-state Sens. Bob Bossie of New Castle, David Gottesman of Nashua and Melanie Levesque of Brookline; ex-House Democratic Leader Jim Craig of Goffstown; former mayors Sylvio Dupuis of Manchester and Bob Lister of Portsmouth; ex-Democratic Party Chairman Ned Helms of Concord and former Massachusetts Congressman Chet Atkins of Hancock.

"Mayor Craig has worked with police to implement the City's first gun violence reduction strategy, which reduced gun violence by 50% in the first year alone. We need leadership unafraid to face the challenge of gun violence in our streets and in our homes. Joyce Craig is that leader," Altschiller said.

Rep. Mel Myler, D-Contoocook, the ranking Democrat on the House Education Committee, has a personal connection with Craig.

"I've known Joyce Craig since she was Joyce Hopkins, my daughter's college roommate at UNH," Myler said. "She is the proud product of Manchester's public schools and served as a member of the Manchester school board. Public education is under attack in our state, and now more than ever we need a champion for public schools."

Ayotte tops first poll

The first independent poll on the 2024 governor's race, from Emerson College, showed former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte of Nashua far ahead of two potential GOP rivals.

Ayotte had support from 45% of likely Republican voters, compared to 9% for former Senate President Chuck Morse of Salem and 4% for Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut of Wilton.

In the Democratic race, Craig led Warmington by a sizable margin as well, 30% to 15%, among likely Democratic voters.

In hypothetical matchups, Ayotte edged Craig, 46% to 37%, and Warmington, 47% to 34%.

"With at least 17% of voters still undecided, there is plenty of room for the New Hampshire governor's race to change," said Spencer Kimball, Emerson's polling director.

"The high approval rating of current Governor Chris Sununu could impact a potential race between Ayotte and Craig or Warmington, as voters generally approve of their Republican governor."

While Democrats pound away at abortion rights more than any other issue, it ranks as the fifth-most important (7%), trailing the economy (32%), housing (21%), threats to democracy (12%) and health care (8%).

Andy Smith, UNH's survey director, said it's difficult to measure the accuracy of polls done during the sleepy summer months.

"Voters aren't as engaged, so what you are really finding isn't really voter preference, but name recognition," Smith said.

Look for UNH to release its own poll later next month.

From Connecticut to NH

Chris Zeller, former executive director of the Connecticut Republican Party, is the New Hampshire Republican State Committee's new staff head, Chairman Chris Ager announced last week.

Zeller replaces Elliot Gault, who left last month to take a major role in Ayotte's campaign for governor.

Ager said Zeller has worked on several congressional and statewide campaigns.

"With his strong background in political planning and grassroots organization, we are confident he will build upon the successes of the NHGOP and grow our party to new heights," Ager said.

Rally for YDC victims

Advocates for the victims of years of abuse at the former Youth Development Center are staging a rally next Friday at noon in front of the State House.

According to its sponsors, a variety of speakers will talk about a yearslong, "wide-scale cover up" of what went on at the Manchester detention complex for juvenile offenders.

Lawyers representing the victims and Attorney General John Formella sparred last week over the significance of Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Andrew Schulman's ruling keeping lawsuits against the state alive.

Both sides acted as if they won.

David Vicinanzo and Rus Rilee, the legal team representing about 1,200 victims, said Schulman's decision left standing the claims that can get their clients the most financial relief.

Formella's team maintains Schulman's decision significantly limited the state's exposure on the most egregious abuse cases and those that involved so-called "third-party providers," which were private treatment programs that the state managed.

Nominees face hearings

The Executive Council will host hearings in Concord on Sept. 6 for Sununu's nominations of former policy aide D.J. Bettencourt of Salem as the next insurance commissioner and Dorothy Walch, an Allenstown police prosecutor, to become a judge in the circuit court.

Debate night party set

The state chapter of Americans for Prosperity is hosting a debate-watching party Wednesday from 7 to 11 p.m. at Murphy's Taproom in Manchester.

Ex-mayor runs for council

Warmington's District 2 seat is the most Democratic on the Executive Council, made even more blue by the Legislature's 2020 redistricting.

That's why this wide open nomination will be a very appealing one for Democrats looking to make a move up in 2024.

The first to step forward last week was Lebanon City Councilor and former Mayor Karen Liot Hill.

Liot Hill, 45, has been on the Lebanon council since 2005 and also served as Grafton County treasurer.

District 2 stretches from the Massachusetts border to the northern end of Grafton County and includes parts of Cheshire and Merrimack counties, as well as most of Sullivan County.

Unconventional hire

By now, anyone following Robert F. Kennedy's maverick Democratic run for president realizes this is a very unconventional campaign.

One example: Kennedy has hired Republican State Rep. Aidan Ankarberg of Rochester for his staff.

First elected in 2020, Ankarberg had been deputy majority whip until stepping down after an ugly falling out with the team led by House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn.

The story, first reported by The New Republic, shows Kennedy has "strong crossover appeal," said his campaign manager, Dennis Kucinich.

In some surveys, Kennedy's favorability rating among Republican voters is higher than in his own party.

Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley, active in 11 presidential campaigns, said this is a new one on him.

"Well, I've been around primaries for many decades, and never has a Republican state representative worked for a Democratic candidate and never has a Democratic state representative worked for a Republican yet," Buckley said.

"This is a paid employee. This isn't someone who endorsed him. This is off-the-charts weird."

Campaign reformer to speak

The founder of a campaign finance group will detail the results of its poll at several grass roots events this week.

Dan McMillan, who founded Save Democracy in America, said a poll he commissioned from TargetSmart found nearly 90% of likely voters were dissatisfied with the current state of politics in the country.

McMillan will speak on the topic Sunday at the Hillsborough County Democrats Annual Picnic in Greenfield, Tuesday at the Concord Rotary Club and Wednesday at the Franklin Falls Rotary Club.

Bad timing for Vivek

As the GOP hopefuls prepare for Wednesday's first presidential debate, GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy took a hit with a report that two former employees filed lawsuits against him.

Ramaswamy founded and ran a drug development company, Roivant, and an asset management firm, Strive, which was sold as a conservative alternative to the ESG movement.

In recent months, two former employees have brought complaints against the investment firm, as well as against Ramaswamy and co-founder Anson Frericks.

They accuse Ramaswamy and Frericks of mistreating staff and aggressively pushing employees to violate securities law.

The suit further suggests the company struggled to meet lofty growth goals for its "anti-ESG" investments.

Ramaswamy's camp has denied the charges.

Hassan's cybersecurity forum

U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., will lead a panel at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics Monday on efforts to improve cybersecurity in K-12 schools.

Schools here and across the country have seen unprecedented cyberattacks, which have put children's private information at risk and cost taxpayers millions.

The panel includes Richard Rossi, the state's cybersecurity coordinator. Hassan wrote the law that required the creation of this position in all 50 states.

Others on the panel include Daniel King, New England chief of Cybersecurity with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; Timothy Benitez of Manchester, New Hampshire's resident Secret Service agent in charge; Technology Commissioner Denis Goulet; state Chief Information Security Officer Kenneth Weeks and Alton School Board Chair Pamela McLeod.

Commissions up and running

As the summer season ends for the Legislature, new commissions are forming as the result of 2023 laws.

A panel to study changes to the state retirement system held its first session last Thursday. Senate President Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, agreed to create it after the Senate rejected raising pension benefits for 1,800 public safety workers who had them cut in 2011.

No date has been set for the start of the commission to come up with a plan for the state-run sale of marijuana to adults for recreational use.

Time is wasting, since the goal here was to create legislation to be acted on in 2024. A report is required by Dec. 1.

The five Senate members are Sens. Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton; Becky Whitley, D-Hopkinton; Bill Gannon, R-Sandown; Lou D'Allesandro, D-Manchester, and Daryl Abbas, R-Salem.

In the past, D'Allesandro and Gannon opposed legalizing pot. The other three senators have voted for it in some form.

Other members on this commission include Debra Naro, a former Democratic lawmaker and head of the Communities for Alcohol and Drug-Free Youth in Plymouth; Ryan Hale, vice president for the New Hampshire Bankers Association and John Bryfonski, president of the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police.

Kevin Landrigan is State House Bureau Chief for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. Contact him at klandrigan@unionleader.com.