Congressional hopeful Shawn O’Connor on Monday said an allegation that he sought payment from the state Democratic Party to withdraw from his primary race is not only false but also ridiculous given his personal wealth.
O’Connor, a Bedford businessman and political newcomer, is seeking the Democratic nomination in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, a seat now held by Republican Frank Guinta. O’Connor, who says he is a domestic abuse survivor, has accused rival Carol Shea-Porter’s staff of spreading rumors that he is instead a perpetrator of domestic violence.
Carol Shea-Porter’s campaign manager Naomi Andrews repeated her earlier comment about O’Connor’s allegations of a whisper campaign: “This is just a sad, untruthful, and desperate attack. Nothing more needs to be said.”
On Monday, an attorney for the New Hampshire Democratic Party said O’Connor has threatened to sue the party for defamation based on vague allegations but has failed to provide specifics.
“Throughout the process, Mr. O’Connor has made inappropriate and troubling demands including a suggestion that NHDP or some other third party should pay Mr. O’Connor money to withdraw from the congressional race,” William Christie said. “NHDP has refused to respond to these demands. Mr. O’Connor has now renewed his threat to sue NHDP. If Mr. O’Connor files suit, NHDP will reply in the proper forum and we fully anticipate this controversy will be resolved in NHDP’s favor.”
O’Connor said he was “dismayed by the spurious and completely false allegations.”
“At no point have my attorneys or I, in any way, suggested that I be paid to leave this congressional race. Furthermore, as Ms. Shea-Porter’s campaign has constantly pointed out, I was very fortunate to be successful in business so the notion that I would engage in illegal activity for what, I can only suspect, would be a relatively small amount of money is ridiculous,” he said.
O’Connor also claims a Democratic state senator spread a rumor that he planned to release rats into the kitchen of a Manchester restaurant. O’Connor doesn’t explain why someone would do that but notes that the restaurant is owned by a prominent Democrat he calls a “close associate” of the state party chairman.
Guinta faces two challengers in the Sept. 13 Republican primary, while Shea-Porter and O’Connor are the only candidates on the Democratic side. A recent WMUR Granite State Poll showed Shea-Porter with net favorability ratings of minus 4 percent. O’Connor’s was plus 4 percent but nearly 90 percent of voters didn’t know enough about him to have an opinion.