It’s on in New Hampshire. Judd Gregg hasn’t even resigned his Senate seat yet (and maybe this was coming regardless of Gregg’s plans), but Paul Hodes has announced that he’s running for Gregg’s (soon to be Bonnie Newman’s) Senate seat. From my inbox (no link):
I announced this week that I will run for the United States Senate in 2010 to continue to keep our state and our nation moving forward.
I want to continue my service to the people of New Hampshire and continue to stand up for middle class families. I will continue to work every day for the people of New Hampshire’s second district and I will work in the future to give New Hampshire the representation it deserves in the United States Senate.
In the coming months, I will have a more formal announcement of my candidacy. For all of the people of New Hampshire, I look forward to meeting you, listening to your ideas, and hearing your stories as we discuss how I can stand up for you.
Yours,
Paul
Well, good. Hodes is probably as well-positioned as anyone to make a strong run for that seat. Who are the other potential Dem candidates? This site (HT Blue Hampshire, our awesome neighbors to the north who by the way may have had the Hodes story before anyone) seems to pretty clearly rule out Governor Lynch.
Hodes would be a very strong candidate — he seems to be a good fundraiser, as well as a tireless campaigner. He’s someone who seems quite reasonably positioned to secure support from both the NH grassroots Dems and the national party. I’ve heard it might be a primary battle between Hodes and Carol Shea-Porter, but I don’t quite understand that. It’s not like Hodes is a suspect Democrat, and Shea-Porter is not exactly a killer fundraiser (which takes on even more importance statewide). Not to mention we could very well lose her (slightly more Republican, relative to Hodes’s) House seat.
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p>As an aside, it does seem he announced it first on Blue Hampshire…for example, the Washington Post gave them props in a story about it!
No link?
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p>A really dedicated editor would just go ahead and give us unfettered access to his inbox. we need proof dammit!