US Senate

MANCHESTER -- As the presidential primary battle continues between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton nationwide, local Democrats stressed unity during their annual state convention Saturday.

They talked as if talking about unity would actually heal the wounds playing out at the grassroots. Call it the audacity of hope.

At one point former party chair Kathy Sullivan, a Cinton supporter, addressed the 800 pound donkey in the room by making all delegates stand, raise their right hands and pledge they'll support the Democratic presidential nominee, whoever that might be. Jim Demers, an Obama state co-chair, repeated the same call for unity.

U.S. Sen. John Sununu's (R-Waterville Valley) campaign has sent an e-mail to supporters providing them with a campaign update.

Two weeks, a congressional newspaper reported that New Hampshire Republican activists were worried that Sununu was not actively building a campaign organization.

According to the e-mail, Sununu has been campaigning across the state.

U.S. Sen. John Sununu and former governor Jeanne Shaheen

U.S. Sen. John Sununu (R-Waterville Valley) and former governor Jeanne Shaheen (D-Madbury) are on opposite sides over the 2008 farm bill.

Sununu and Shaheen are competing in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country.

Sununu was one of 15 Senators that voted against the $290 billion bill

The influential conservative group Club for Growth has release its 2007 congressional rankings, with New Hampshire's Republican senators scoring high and its Democratic representatives ending up near the bottom of the list.

Out of 100 U.S. Senators, U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-Rye) was ranked 19 and received a 79% rating from the group, while fellow U.S. Sen. John Sununu (R-Waterville Valley) came in 23 with a ranking of 75%.

Don't expect New Hampshire's U.S. senators to be a presidential runningmate. In a survey of the U.S. Senate's membership not already running for president on whether they'd accept an offer to be vice president, The Hill newspaper found a variety of responses to the veepstakes question. Some were accompanied by laughs, others took the question seriously.

So, how did Republicans Judd Gregg and John Sununu respond?

Former governor Jeanne Shaheen (D-Madbury) has launched a new website for U.S. Senate campaign.

The website is: http://www.jeanneshaheen.org/

U.S. Sen. John Sununu (R-Waterville Valley) argued today that corn-based ethanol is contributing to rising food  and oil prices.

U.S. Sen. John Sununu (R-Waterville Valley)

This morning in Washington D.C., Sununu participated in testimony titled, "Fuel Subsidies: Is There an Impact on Food Supply and Prices?"

"Ethanol production is driving up prices for small businesses, such the New England-based When Pigs Fly Bakery, and continues to hit families and food pantries hard," Sununu told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. "This year, over 30% of America's corn harvest will be diverted from food to ethanol production. That's a bad deal for New Hampshire and the nation, because it causes higher prices for bread, milk, eggs, and other commodities."

A new poll has Jeanne Shaheen (D-Madbury) continuing to lead U.S. Sen. John Sununu (R-Waterville Valley.

The UNH's Granite State Poll has Shaheen beating Sununu 52% to 40% and also has Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (D-Rochester) losing to former Congressman Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) but beating Bradley's rival former Health and Human Services Secretary John Stephen (R-Manchester). The poll has better news for Congressman Paul Hodes (D-Concord) who is beating both State Sen. Bob Clegg and Jennifer Horn by double-digits.

Former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen continues to lead U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu in their race for the Senate this year, a new poll out today suggests.

The Ramussen Poll gave Shaheen a 51 percent to 43 percent lead. The poll was taken Wednesday of 500 likely voters and has a margin of error of +/- 4.5 percent.

Many of NH’s grassroots activists are worried about the slow start John Sununu’s reelection campaign seems to be off to. There have been numerous stories from unnamed Republicans that all point to Jeanne Shaheen’s active campaign profile and Sununu’s much quieter behind the scenes campaign.

It’s true, Shaheen’s campaign to date has been much more active and much more visible than Sununu’s has. And while I too am receiving emails from the grassroots Republican activists complaining about Sununu’s campaign, or lack there of, many of the Granite State’s senior consultants and long time party leaders are not as concerned.