Sununu in Dems' sights

2007-07-11

Source: Union Leader

As the Presidential primary races heat up, the fall 2008 campaign is also starting and New Hampshire Republican John Sununu is a top target as Democrats work to broaden their narrow U.S. Senate majority.

Three Democrats already have announced Senate candidacies, are raising money, have hired staff and put up Web sites.

Another major Democrat, former three-term Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, is the subject of a draft effort organized by former state party chair Kathy Sullivan.

Sununu, who is not up for reelection for another 15 months, has attracted the ire of Democrat- and labor-funded groups that are purchasing advertising and holding news conferences, vigils and sit-ins at his offices. They intend to draw attention to his support for the Bush administration, especially on the Iraq war and against expanding the number of stem cell lines available for federal funding.

Last Thursday, for instance, an anti-war activist group called Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, which is funded by organized labor, MoveOn.org and other liberal groups, launched an "Iraq summer" program at Sununu's Manchester office.

Today, the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will announce a "significant" ad buy on WMUR-TV and cable networks targeting Sununu on the Iraq war. Timed to coincide with upcoming Senate votes on Iraq, the 30-second spot says that Sununu four times this year "voted to continue George Bush's open-ended commitment in Iraq and against bringing our troops home."

The New Hampshire Democratic Party has a "Sununu-watch" link on its Web site, entitled "Out of Touch, Out of Time."

Josh Kraushaar, writing on July 4 for Politico, a political Web site, called Sununu "the most vulnerable senator heading into the 2008 election."

How can Sununu, who as the Senate's youngest member has been called one of its smartest, who is the son of a popular former three-term governor and whose future in politics once seemed as bright as anyone in Congress, be vulnerable?

Experts say it's a combination of Sununu's support for George W. Bush on the war and the fact that the state, trending in a moderate direction for several years, accelerated and turned Democratic blue in 2006 as five-term Republican U.S. Rep. Charlie Bass and two-term U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley were ousted and the Legislature went heavily Democratic.

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