The rematch between six-term Republican Congressman Charlie Bass and Democratic challenger Paul Hodes is official.

Bass handily defeated Berlin Mayor Bob Danderson and Mary Maxwell of Concord in yesterday's primary. He will face Hodes, a Concord attorney who was unchallenged yesterday, in what could prove to be a livelier race than 2004's, when Bass won 59 percent to 38 percent.

Hodes to date has raised more than twice the money he raised in all of his 2004 campaign, according to federal campaign finance reports.

"People want to give money right now to him because they want a change in Congress,"campaign manager Dana Houle said.

Bass said last night he expects a "rerun" of 2004, with Hodes running a "negative campaign based on attacks" that raises a lot of money and spends it poorly.

"I see this eight-week period as an opportunity for me to discuss my accomplishments fighting for lower taxes, less government and a strong economy," he said."Money doesn't buy elections. Votes win elections."

As of the filing period that ended Aug. 23, Hodes had $409,856 in cash on hand and a fundraising total of $854,021. However, Houle said, that includes about $50,000 reflected twice in the total because Hodes loaned money to his campaign, took it back to reinvest it and loaned it to the campaign a second time. Bass had $502,909 in cash on hand and a total of $702,774 in fundraising.

A poll sponsored by the University of New Hampshire and released Aug. 1 said 77 percent of likely voters did not know Hodes well enough to say how they felt about his candidacy. The poll put Bass ahead of Hodes 53 percent to 25 percent, with 22 percent undecided.

Hodes disputed the poll results, saying he hasn't stopped campaigning since 2004 and his own campaign polls show he and Bass in "a statistical dead heat."

"There's no practice for running for Congress like running for Congress," he said. "I'm a serious, seasoned candidate and the issues facing the country are serious issues."

In the general election, Hodes said, he'll focus largely on Congress's "more of the same"approach to the war in Iraq, the need for an energy policy that reduces U.S. dependency on foreign oil and tackling rising costs of health care.

Both candidates seemed to pay minimal attention to the results last night. Bass voted in his hometown of Peterborough early in the day, then flew to Washington to cast votes on the House floor in the evening. He and Hodes both made calls at night from quiet offices thanking campaign staff and voters for their support.

Bass campaign manager Lindsay Jackson said yesterday afternoon that her focus had turned toward today, "the first day of the new campaign."

Bass beat his opposition by large margins. The Associated Press called the race when just 18 of 188 precincts had reported their results. Later, with 44 percent of precincts reporting, Bass was ahead with 73 percent of the vote.

Danderson, who had campaigned as a middle class candidate, had been optimistic about his chances. He received 15 percent of the votes in the early tally. After the race was called, he said, "I'm not going to give up until a few more (precincts) get in."

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