Top McCain staffer resigns DC post and returns to N.H.

Michael Dennehy, a fixture of New Hampshire politics since he engineered John McCain's victory in the state's presidential primary in 2000, will leave his post in McCain's Washington office and move back to the Granite State.

Dennehy said in an interview with the Globe that he will step away from his day-to-day duties as the campaign's national political director and move back to New Hampshire because it would be better for his family.

"My wife and I knew that if we didn't move to Washington and help we would regret it for the rest of our lives," Dennehy said. "But it just wasn't working out with our family."

His family has only been away from New Hampshire (and his Concord-based lobbying firm) since January.

While the move was for family reasons, his return to New Hampshire comes at a time when McCain has struggled to retain his front-runner status in the state.

Dennedy will now take on the role as a consultant for the campaign's New Hampshire and South Carolina efforts.