State House Dome: Sununu-backed group targets GOP critics

Sep. 11—WHEN A BAND of seven very conservative House Republicans moved last December to impeach Gov. Chris Sununu for government overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic, you had to know this controversy would reverberate in the GOP primary.

It sure has.

The Union Leader first reported on social media that Granite PAC, a political action committee of business leaders that Sununu helped form in 2020, spent nearly $27,000 in recent days on attack mailings that targeted six House Republicans, three of whom co-sponsored the impeachment resolution.

Its supporters withdrew the resolution and the House never voted on it.

The GOP legislators called out for opposing Sununu were Reps. Melissa Blasek of Merrimack, Mike Sylvia of Belmont, Josh Yokela of Fremont, Max Abramson of Seabrook, Norm Silber of Gilford and Paul Terry of Alton.

The mailing said the six named conservatives did not live up to the New Hampshire ideals of "freedom, equality and good character."

We'll see how this shakes out in Tuesday's primary election, but the PAC has picked on several lawmakers who have proven over several elections to be popular in their districts.

Sylvia, former chairman of the Belknap County delegation, has always gone door to door in his district, Yokela has won an endorsement from the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity, and Abramson has captured his House seat both as a Republican and as an independent.

Memo to Granite PAC: The mailings fail to comply with RSA 664, the state election law that requires that all these independent expenditures state they are "not authorized by any candidate."

Granite PAC also might consider putting its mailing services out to bid or at least sharpening its pencil.

The group spent $4,214 with Majority Strategies to do a mailing targeting Yokela.

According to campaign finance reports, the cost of a mailing on Yokela's behalf by AFP was $683.

Record cash for House Dems

New Hampshire House Democrats' political action committee has raised a record amount heading into Tuesday.

Over the past two weeks alone, $400,000 poured into the coffers of the Democratic Victory Campaign Committee, nearly all of it from the Washington-based Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.

Chairman Matt Wilhelm said published reports about House Majority Leader Jason Osborne using the N-word 11 years ago in a Libertarian blog have sparked more national interest in trying to flip the New Hampshire House majority for the sixth time in seven elections.

"In the days since Jason Osborne's crass and offensive statements became public last week, the DVCC has received a tremendous amount of support from people who want to see common sense and balance restored to the State House," Wilhelm said.

Thus far, the House Democrats have collected a record $1.3 million and still have $670,000 in the bank. The Committee to Elect House Republicans have raised $202,000, though they have almost all of that ($190,000) left to spend.

Sherman, Sununu close on cash

The campaign finance race for governor remains competitive.

Over the past fortnight, Gov. Sununu raised $139,000, and his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Tom Sherman of Rye, raised $137,000. Sherman has a slight edge in cash on hand, with about $710,000, compared with $690,000 for Sununu.

In the final week of the primary run-up, Sununu spent $71,000 on his first TV campaign ad, which lists his policy successes over the past two years.

Sherman countered with $89,000 on his first two commercials, both of which attack Sununu for signing a ban on late-term abortions.

The biggest donations to Sununu were $10,000 apiece from former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card of Jaffrey and the Motor Vehicle PAC, which represents the state's auto dealers. All told, auto execs recently gave more than $30,000 to the governor.

The state's biggest unions, the AFL-CIO and the State Employees Association, each ponied up $5,000 for Sherman.

Anti-abortion group hits Gov. Sununu

Cornerstone Action NH has proven not the least bit shy about taking on some of its past allies on issues important to the conservative special interest group.

In this final week, the anti-abortion organization sent a stinging mailing that criticized Sununu for vetoing legislation that would have eliminated a required buffer zone around abortion clinics.

"This year Chris Sununu used his veto powers to protect the buffer zone law and suppress free speech. We can't trust Chris Sununu," the mailing stated.

A spokesman for the governor dismissed Cornerstone's impact.

"Cornerstone is a struggling, irrelevant political group that has for years attacked the governor with no success," said Benjamin Vihstadt.

Difficulty of TV debate

Some might wonder why WMUR would televise a candidate debate for governor that didn't include Sununu.

When the TV station planned a debate of the four major GOP candidates, it obviously thought the three-term incumbent would show up.

The station did a promo saying Sununu would attend.

But Sununu spokesman Vihdstadt said the governor made clear some time ago he wasn't going to be there.

Viewers got treated to a "debate" between the three other GOP hopefuls: Thad Riley of Brentwood, Julian Acciard of Derry and Karen Testerman of Franklin, none of whom has cracked 10% in any independent poll during this campaign.

Pro-military nod for Mowers' candidacy

Heading into the final weekend, 1st Congressional District candidate Matt Mowers of Gilford received the backing of Seal PAC, which is led by former Trump Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

"As our enemies are emboldened by Joe Biden's weakness, we need serious leaders who have the experience necessary to tackle America's toughest challenges and hold this administration accountable," Zinke said.

"As the senior White House advisor in President Trump's State Department, Matt Mowers worked every day to advance the America First agenda."

Any Trump connection could make a difference in this very tight race, which former President Donald Trump appears to sitting out.

Leavitt faces attack

Karoline Leavitt of Hampton, a GOP hopeful in the 1st Congressional District, faced her own assault on the campaign trail, with signs popping up along roadways that stated, "KKKaroline for Congress."

Leavitt appeared on Tucker Carlson's show on Fox News last Thursday night to talk about the incident.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., came to the American Legion Post in Londonderry to appear on Leavitt's behalf.

A Cruz-backed PAC spent nearly $300,000 in the final week with TV ads for Leavitt, most of which attacked Mowers.

Two other congressional incumbents will turn out for Leavitt on Monday. Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Rep. Byron Daniels of Florida will appear at a pro-gun owner event in Litchfield.

On Friday, conservative talk show host John Fredericks endorsed Leavitt.

Cheshire County dinner

Republican Women on the Rise is the theme of the next Cheshire County GOP fundraiser, Sept. 23 at the Keene Country Club.

Former United Nations Ambassador and ex-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is the event's headliner. Other speakers will include former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte of Nashua, Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut of Wilton and Executive Councilor Janet Stevens of Rye.

Tickets are $75 per person for the dinner and $100 apiece for a VIP reception before the event.

Cheshire County GOP spokesperson Jerry Sickels said the event is already a near sellout.

Sununu keeps Bryce in loop despite retirement

Leaders in the Department of Cultural and Natural Resources hosted a retirement party for Parks and Recreation Division Director Phil Bryce of Deering.

Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, recently revealed that he had helped convince Bryce to delay his departure for a year to help the state complete its plan to spend nearly $30 million in federal grants to upgrade the parks system.

Sununu, who has been a big supporter of Bryce's work, found a way to keep him involved in state government.

The governor nominated Bryce to be a member of the Mount Washington Commission. His other nominee was former Sununu office aide Chris Ellms of Sugar Hill who has since become deputy director of the Energy Department.

Sununu also nominated Christine Santaniello for a full four-year term as associate commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services. In 2020, she was named to replace Christine Tappan of Northwood, who is running as a Democrat this fall for the State Senate District 17 seat that Sen. John Reagan, R-Deerfield, is vacating.

Veto fights, energy battle

The New Hampshire Legislature returns to session this Thursday to take up Sununu's half-dozen vetoes of 2022 bills.

Last week, Sununu said he was confident he would prevail on all these issues.

That's probably true, but expect some spirited debate from conservatives who aren't happy that he rejected bills to make it easier for consumers to get the controversial drug Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 and to curb the powers of governors dealing with states of emergency.

Sununu faces a much higher hurdle, when it comes to getting support for his ambitious plans to provide energy cost relief to consumers.

For starters, the governor needs a two-thirds majority in the House and the Senate to suspend the rules to even take up this issue after the deadline for new bills.

So if House or Senate Democrats want to deny Sununu a "win" in an election year, they could vote against allowing debate on the issue to proceed.

Over the past two weeks, Granite PAC has spent $82,339 on statewide radio ads to promote the issue and urge listeners to contact their lawmakers to support the cause.

Calling out Free Staters

The liberal group, Move The Goalposts, took the unusual tack last week of urging its supporters to reject Democratic candidates for seats in the state House of Representatives because they were members of the Free State movement.

Former Portsmouth Mayor and two-time Democratic candidate for governor Steve Marchand said primary voters deserve the right to know the backgrounds of candidates.

"Several Free Staters are running for the legislature as Democrats, thinking that if they can get a few hundred people to support them in those primaries, they can boot out some of the best and most reliable Democrats we have in the entire state in the process...and then cruise to victory in the general election as the "Democratic" nominee," Marchand said.

The candidates Marchand claims are Free Staters:

Hillsborough County District 40 (Manchester Wards 1,3, 10, 11, 12): Five are running in a four-seat district. Marchand said Matthew Ping is a Free Stater who moved to the state several years ago.

Hillsborough County District 41 (Manchester Wards 2, 4, 5, 7): Five are running for three seats. Marchand said Mary Smith and Rebecca Thompson are Free State candidates.

Hillsborough County District 22 (Manchester Ward 11): Three are running for two seats. Marchand said Sara Lachance is a well-established Free Stater.

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