Democrats set their sights on John Sununu’s Senate seat

It sounded like a locker room pep talk. The N.H. Democratic Committee, still reveling in a sense of euphoria that began with monumental victories in the 2006 elections, feels it has Republicans on the ropes.

“The Republican activists are not energized. They’re lost and they’re wandering around,” said Committee Chair Raymond Buckley.

“We’re gonna take John Sununu out,” added state Sen. Martha Fuller Clark (D-Portsmouth), vice chair of the committee. “We’re gonna knock the socks off anybody who tries to run for state rep.”

Buckley and Clark addressed a packed classroom of Democratic faithful at Salem High School during a quarterly meeting held on Saturday, April 28. “What a week to be a New Hampshire Democrat,” Buckley said. He referenced a number of bills rapidly pushing through the Legislature, including a civil unions bill, a public smoking ban and a minimum wage hike.

Democrats are striving to keep the momentum going as the 2008 election cycle heats up. The flood of presidential candidates seeking party nominations are grabbing most of the headlines, but N.H. Democrats also have their sights fixed on the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by first-term Republican John Sununu.

Three Democrats have already stepped forward to challenge Sununu, all of whom spoke at the April 28 meeting. Physician and former astronaut Jay Buckey, Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand and attorney Katrina Swett all feel poised to topple the incumbent. It was no coincidence the meeting took place on Sununu’s home turf.

Sununu, who graduated from Salem High, has come under fire from Democrats for his support of the war in Iraq and President George Bush. A former three-term U.S. Congressman, the once-popular Republican appears vulnerable in the wake of New Hampshire’s 2006 Democratic coup. But the election is still 18 months away, and Democrats face the challenge of maintaining and harnessing their party’s enthusiasm until then. 

Buckey, Marchand and Swett also must distinguish themselves from one another in order to win the Democratic nomination. All three have stressed the need to end the war in Iraq, reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and increase the accessibility of healthcare, and they claim Sununu has failed on all three fronts. But which candidate is best equipped to effect the necessary changes?

Dean Spiliotes, director of research at the N.H. Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College in Manchester, believes it will be another couple of months before the Democrats begin delineating themselves.

“I think for a while what we’re going to see is all three going after Sununu,” Spiliotes said. Noting the Democrats view Sununu as a vulnerable target in the current political climate, he said Raymond Buckley and other party spokespeople at the state and national level will “hammer away at Sununu week after week.” Candidates will likely wait until a time closer to the primary before debating one another.

This tactic was evident at the committee meeting, where Buckley advised all three Democrats to avoid using attack ads or negative media statements against each other. Candidates laced Sununu for failing to represent the state’s interests, but their own stances featured little variation.

Buckey, who orbited the earth aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1998, said the nation must eliminate illegal wiretaps and other privacy infringements used to combat terrorism. The Hanover resident said personal freedoms should not be sacrificed for the sake of national security. “We can fight terrorism and still be true to our values,” he said.

Buckey focused much of his speech on the demand for new energy technology that will create jobs, reduce dependence on foreign oil and improve the environment. “We have managed to link our economic security to our foreign oil supply, and we need to break that link,” he said.

Marchand, who was elected mayor of Portsmouth in 2005, echoed that sentiment. He criticized Sununu for voting against group purchasing of health care and accused the senator of being out of step with the people of New Hampshire.

Marchand also said he opposes Bush’s proposed troop surge in Iraq and called the entire war a mistake. “If there’s any call that we’ve made wrong, I would argue that Iraq is that call,” he said.

A vibrant and energetic Swett pointed to a number of blemishes on Sununu’s voting record. Wife of former U.S. Rep. Richard Swett, she said Sununu voted to cut further funding of stem cell research and voted to “abolish” the federal minimum wage. Most significantly, she said, the senator supports the ongoing war effort in Iraq. “John Sununu continues to be one of those opposing every effort to disengage from Iraq,” Swett said. “That is the wrong side of history and he’s on it and we’ve got to stop that.”

The incessant attacks on Sununu will likely put him on the defensive as the election draws near. Like other Republicans seeking victory in 2008, he will have to distance himself from the unpopular president—a poll conducted by the Wall Street Journal in April found that only 28 percent of American adults had a positive view of Bush’s job performance—without capitulating his conservative ideals.

“He’ll distance himself from Bush, but he’s been very vocal about the fact that he has this consistently conservative philosophy,” Spiliotes said. “If he deviates too much from that, he’ll be accused of pandering.”

There have been instances in which Sununu has crossed party lines, such as stalling renewal of the Patriot Act and voting to support certain environmental initiatives, Spiliotes said. Sununu recently supported legislation to provide federal funds to purchase critical coastal ecosystems and protect them from development. He is co-sponsor of the “Clean Air Planning Act of 2007,” which would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury in the air. He also helped the state sequester federal disaster assistance in the wake of last month’s floods.

N.H. Republican State Committee Chair Fergus Cullen said Sununu’s near-Libertarian leanings, with an emphasis on small government, keep his approach consistent with New Hampshire ideals. He will, therefore, not be as easy to defeat as Democrats might think.

“If the Democrats think John Sununu is a sitting duck, they’re just plain wrong,” Cullen said. “The Democrats think that John Sununu is very vulnerable, but I think that they are underestimating him and over-reading their position in the state.”

Although Cullen expects the Senate race to be highly competitive, he referred to Swett and Marchand as “second tier candidates” and suggested the Democratic Party would be better off pitting Gov. John Lynch or former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen against Sununu. Although he acknowledged that Republicans suffered major defeats in 2006, Cullen said the 2008 election will be focused on the future, not the past.

“The 2006 election was part of a Democratic tide, but it wasn’t aagainst any one Republican, it was a vote against the Republican Party nationally,” Cullen said, adding Sununu has made few mistakes in his senate tenure. 

Democrats hope Sununu will soften under the continual pounding inflicted by his opponents. Spiliotes noted that the national party has increasingly stepped into state elections to assist Democratic candidates and orchestrate campaigns. Such assistance will help Buckey, Marchand and Swett garner attention and name recognition in an election cycle dominated by a contentious presidential race.

The three candidates wasted no time in launching their campaigns, and they will spend the next few months attempting to secure funding. Taking on a well-known incumbent is an extremely expensive task, and candidates often publicize campaign contributions as a reflection of support. “A lot of it’s going to be early on trying to demonstrate that you can raise money,” Spiliotes said.

Swett’s campaign raised more than $460,000 over the first three months of 2007, and Marchand reported raising more than $100,000 in just five weeks. Buckey has not officially decided whether he will run, but has formed a Senate exploratory committee. All three candidates have posted campaign Web sites.

Spiliotes sees the early campaigning as being symptomatic of a general trend in state and national elections. Candidates for major seats are forced to start early and treat their campaigns almost as full-time jobs, which can be physically and emotionally draining. Voters can also become fatigued and lose interest in races, which forces candidates to walk the narrow line of remaining in the public spotlight without irritating voters.

While issues like the war in Iraq, global warming and healthcare dominate political discussions at the national level, senatorial candidates also must address state issues like education funding, property taxes and the economy, Spiliotes said. But for now, candidates will likely remain focused on raising money and bashing Sununu. The N.H. Democratic Party Web site includes a link called “Sununu Watch,” which includes articles criticizing his votes in the Senate.

Cullen noted that Sununu has been involved in tight political races in the past and is prepared for the onslaught of insults from Democrats. “John Sununu has not lived a charmed political life,” Cullen said. “He’s a very tested, very experienced candidate who’s been through tough races in the past and always prevailed.”

But Buckley and other Democrats expect Republicans to drop the ball in 2008, just as they did in 2006.

“They were out of step with the people of New Hampshire, and it looks like they’re going to be out of step with the people of New Hampshire in 2008, and for that we should be very thankful,” Buckley said.