Carol Shea-Porter, the Democratic congressional candidate who called for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, won yesterday's First District primary, upsetting Jim Craig, an opponent with a huge money advantage who was backed by the party establishment.
With 91 percent of votes counted, Shea-Porter led Craig 54 to 35 percent. Rye businessman Gary Dodds received 5 percent, Manchester state Rep. Peter Sullivan 4 percent, and Londonderry engineer Dave Jarvis 2 percent.
"Oh my God, I think I'm going to faint," Shea-Porter told her supporters at her primary night party in Portsmouth.
Shea-Porter will face two-term Rep. Jeb Bradley in November, who easily won the Republican primary race over Michael Callis, a stone mason from Eaton. With 90 percent of the vote counted, Bradley led 86 percent to 14 percent.
"I would like to call on Congressman Jeb Bradley to come out and let's have a conversation,"Shea-Porter said. She said she would focus on homeland security, the environment, education and the national deficit.
The district includes Manchester, the Seacoast and the Lakes Region.
Both Shea-Porter and Craig, the state House minority leader,tied Bradley to the Bush administration, citing his support for the Iraq war, the Medicare Part D prescription drug act and tax cuts for the wealthy. But Shea-Porter, 53, a former social worker from Rochester, took a stronger stand against the war in Iraq by supporting a deadline for American troops to withdraw. Craig, in contrast, opposed a deadline but said he would try to pressure the Bush administration to articulate its plan.
She also didn't to take money from companies or special interest groups such as unions, saying she based her campaign on volunteers.
Craig, a Manchester lawyer, campaigned on his experience as an Army veteran and a leader in the Legislature. He received the endorsement from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the effort led by the party's House leaders to win a congressional majority, and he got campaign donations from unions and Democratic representatives. New Hampshire Democratic leaders in the Legislature also endorsed him, and Bill Shaheen, husband of the former governor Jeanne Shaheen, recorded a message in supportsent to voters over the phone.
Craig outspent Shea-Porter, $195,558 to $19,023, according to federal campaign finance reports.
But in the end, it wasn't enough.
After the vote, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee quickly switched allegiances.
"Carol Shea-Porter clearly has the grassroots New Hampshire support," said Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the committee. "We will 100 percent support her."
The general election is Nov. 7.
Yesterday, Bradley said he was honored to received the GOP nomination for a third time and said he looks forward to a "vigorous debate over the issues." He said his priorities as a congressman would continue to include support for economic growth, especially for small businesses; keeping the country safe from terrorists; protecting the environment; and providing a market-based health care system.
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