U.S. Senate candidate Jeanne Shaheen yesterday denounced what she called the "Republican war on science," saying that her opponent, incumbent Sen. John Sununu, had played an important role on the GOP side.

"Absolutely, he's complicit. Look at where he's been on stem cell research," Shaheen told reporters, referring to Sununu's votes against federal funding for studies of new embryonic stem cells. "He was the vote that could have overridden President Bush's veto on embryonic stem cell research. He refused to step up to the plate. He has consistently voted against it. He should know better."

Shaheen, a Democrat and a former three-term governor, made those remarks yesterday after delivering a speech on science policy at Dartmouth College in Hanover. She called for boosting federal funding of research and curbing the role of ideology in decisions about science, citing reports of Bush administration officials editing scientific reports about climate change.

Shaheen said that she had long backed wider stem cell research, which scientists say holds promise for an array of chronic diseases, but that the issue became personal last fall, when her 8-year-old granddaughter, Elle, was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.

"As a grandmother and as an American, I am angry that we have lost seven years of promising research because of President Bush's restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research," Shaheen said.

Sununu, a Republican who prevailed over Shaheen to win his seat in 2002, hit back in a statement from his campaign.

"As the only engineer in the U.S. Senate, I've been proud to fight to protect funding for the National Science Foundation from political manipulation, supported funding for stem cell research and cosponsored legislation establishing tough emission standards for CO2, mercury and sulfur," Sununu said. "With oil at $140 dollars a barrel, Jeanne Shaheen continues to tow the extreme liberal line, ignoring technology improvements that allow us to produce new energy deep off-shore, while providing better environmental protection than ever before."

Shaheen cited the booming economies of India and China, the threat of terrorism and environmental concerns as reasons the United States should redouble its efforts to remain on the forefront of scientific research.

Science isn't a subject that many voters put at the top of their lists, said Andy Smith, a political scientist at the University of New Hampshire. But, Smith said, with New Hampshire's relative dearth of social conservatives and pro-life voters, Shaheen's stance on stem cell research is probably in line with most voters."

And, Smith said, it makes sense for Shaheen to hit Sununu on the turf of science, which Sununu often claims as his own.

"You want to go after your opponent's strength, particularly early on and particularly when you already have a lead on your opponent," Smith said.

For more than a year, Shaheen has held a wide lead over Sununu in most polls, recently averaging an 11-point lead according to pollster.com.

Asked about Sununu's science background, Shaheen said it didn't translate in his votes. "The fact that he is an engineer has had nothing to do with his perspective on supporting science and technology in the Senate," Shaheen said.

Shaheen didn't put a price tag on her research proposals but cited a proposal to increase funding for the National Science Foundation by 10 percent. "The amount of money we're talking about is probably less than a month of the cost of the war in Iraq," she said, or about $12 billion.