5 candidates in NH's 2nd District GOP primary
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CONCORD, N.H.—Only one of the five Republicans competing for the chance to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes has won an election before, but all claim the right experience for Congress.
GOP voters in the 2nd Congressional District will choose Tuesday among Grant Bosse, Bob Clegg, Jennifer Horn, Alfred L'Eplattenier and Jim Steiner. The winner will face Hodes, who is unopposed in his primary, in November.
Clegg, a state senator from Hudson, is the only one who has held elected office, but Bosse is no stranger to politics, having worked in the Statehouse, as a legislative aide to U.S. Sen. John Sununu and as a radio reporter covering state and local government. Horn also has media experience -- she hosted her own talk show and is a former newspaper columnist -- but says raising five children has been all the political education she needs.
Steiner, 52, of Concord, promotes his military background -- he's a West Point graduate and former Green Beret -- and his 20 years of representing small businesses as a lawyer. Dismissing the latter experience, L'Eplattenier calls himself as "a change from the over-educated attorney types." But the retired aviation engineer from Rindge has kept a low profile while the others have spent months campaigning, attending forums and raising money.
Campaign finance reports posted in late August showed Horn had raised the most money -- just under $100,000 -- and had the most left to spend in the final days of the campaign. Bosse, who raised far less money, has accused Horn of using money for the general election to fund her primary run, an allegation her campaign denied.
The candidates also have sparred on the issues, with Bosse criticizing Clegg's "big government health care mandates" and Horn's "lack of details and commitment" on energy policy and other issues. In a televised debate Thursday involving all but L'Eplattenier, Bosse claimed to have set out his plan calling for more U.S. oil drilling, refineries and nuclear plants ahead of his rivals and accused Horn of arriving late to the same conclusions.
"Now she's in favor of drilling and I applaud that, but we need real leadership from people who don't wait for gas to hit $3.50 or $5 a gallon before they decide we need to put American resources in American gas tanks," said Bosse, 36, of Hillsboro.
Horn, 44, of Nashua, insisted she has been clear about supporting drilling as a part of achieving energy independence and referred to her first press release, which says only that she would "work with Democrats and Republicans to develop a long-term energy solution that makes sense and actually helps working families." In June, she issued another release saying she supported lifting the ban on new offshore drilling.
"What we don't need in Washington are these typical political games where you can say or do anything to get a couple of extra inches of press the next day and think the truth can just be left on the side," she told Bosse at the debate, steering back to her central argument that she would provide a fresh voice in Congress.
"All these folks who are defending their inside Washington experience and have spent this campaign defending the system, defending the earmarks, defending their big government mandates, cannot understand that this system hurts real people every day," she said.
The mandates both she and Bosse have mentioned refer to a new state law Clegg sponsored after having bariatric surgery and losing more than 100 pounds. It requires New Hampshire health insurers to offer the procedure as an option in treating diseases and ailments caused by obesity.
Clegg, 54, argues he is the only candidate with a record of balancing budgets at the state and local level and delivering results for working families. A former selectman, he owns a construction company in addition to serving in the Legislature, where the "professional politicians" Horn decries earn $100 a year.
"I've spent 14 years in the state Legislature effecting change, effecting change based on the fact that I do understand what it's like to go to work every day. I do know what it's like to have employees. I do know the trials and tribulations of having to pay taxes and trying to keep a workplace open," he said.
Steiner, meanwhile, said he stands apart because he won't take donations from political action committees or special interest groups.
"While my colleagues talk about change in Congress, there will only be change when someone is sent to Congress who represents first and foremost as his special interest: you, the voters of the 2nd District," he said.
There was little disagreement among the four on key foreign policy and economic issues. All oppose setting a timetable for removing American troops from Iraq and support increased efforts to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The candidates also generally agree that pushing the country toward energy independence and helping small businesses are essential to reviving the economy. Like Horn and Bosse, Steiner supports lifting the federal moratorium on offshore oil drilling, building more refineries and nuclear plants and looking at alternative and renewable energy sources. Clegg said his long-term energy plan also would include developing clean coal technology, while Steiner would add to the mix a temporary suspension of the gasoline tax.
On social issues, Horn is the only candidate who supports amending the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. The others argue such an amendment would be a federal intrusion into states' rights. They all oppose abortion and would support giving parents a say in their daughters' decisions to get one.
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On the Net:
http://www.hodesforcongress.com/
