The wait for the official result was unexpectedly long, but the deck has been cleared in the race to be New Hampshire’s 82nd governor.
Democrat Colin Van Ostern, 37, a Concord businessman with deep experience in party politics, will face off against Republican Chris Sununu, 41, of Newfields, son of the former governor, brother of a former U.S. senator and the CEO of the Waterville Valley Resort.
Sununu and Van Ostern are both members of the Executive Council, both fathers who claim a stake for their young families in New Hampshire’s future. The winner will set the tone and direction for a new generation of leadership in the State House. It’s time for all New Hampshire voters to pay close attention to these two candidates, their governing style and the issues.
We will leave it to others to analyze the shocker performance by freshman state Rep. Frank Edelblut of Wilton, who lost to Sununu by less than 1,000 votes in the GOP primary. Edelblut, an energetic accountant, investor and father of seven home-schooled children, seemed like an unknown conservative novice – until Tuesday night. After a year of dogged hand-to-hand contact with voters, Edelblut, who has now endorsed Sununu, far outpaced two other primary candidates, including Mayor Ted Gatsas of Manchester. And he rattled the GOP establishment – a familiar theme this election season.
On the campaign trail, education financing and school choice will be at the top of the agenda, along with the opioid crisis, prospects for commuter rail, decisions about renewable energy and the ongoing debate about Northern Pass – from burying the transmission lines to who benefits from the deal.
As terms expire, either Van Ostern or Sununu will nominate an attorney general and education commissioner, a member of the Public Utilities Commission, which decides rate hikes, and the liquor commissioner. Mandatory retirement will open up two seats on the state Supreme Court, including chief justice – nominated by the governor and subject to Executive Council approval.
Competition for voter attention will be relentless. We are a swing state in the presidential election, so pundits and campaign operatives are fixed on the outcome of Clinton vs. Trump. Add in the high-visibility race between Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (who easily disposed of her primary challenger, Jim Rubens) and Democrat Maggie Hassan, the outgoing governor. Locked in a tie for months, that race could influence which party controls the U.S. Senate.
We hope our fellow citizens are as disgusted as we are at projections of megabuck spending in that contest, which the Associated Press reports could reach $100 million, mostly from outside groups.
Congressman Frank Guinta’s razor-thin victory in the 1st District GOP primary proves you can be fined for campaign finance violations, called “a damned liar” in a Union Leader editorial, and advised to resign by Sen. Ayotte and still survive. But this was a low-turnout party primary, and Guinta, a former mayor of Manchester who has endorsed Trump, now faces a fourth go-round with Democrat Carol Shea-Porter (he’s 2-1 against her), who beats him easily in recent polls.
Under the radar – until now – is the race for the 2nd District Congressional seat, held by Annie Kuster, a two-term Democrat. In Tuesday’s GOP primary, former state Rep. Jim Lawrence, a Hudson business owner and Air Force veteran, became the first African-American to win a major party nomination in our state. He now faces Kuster’s considerable campaign fundraising machine and established constituency.
We know voters are wary of the political deluge to come over the next 54 days. But as we march toward the general election, we again urge you to cull through the noise, focus on the issues and remember the long-term consequences of your choices, for our state and the nation.