As election season draws closer, this year’s crop of political candidates have begun to stir from their long winter naps and lay out the platforms of their respective campaigns.

Staking out their territory on domestic issues, foreign policy and more were Manchester Rep. Jim Craig, Democratic leader in the New Hampshire House, Manchester Rep. Peter Sullivan and Carol Shea-Porter of Rochester. Absent was candidate Gary Dodds of Rye, who is still recovering from injuries he sustained after a car accident earlier this month. Forum organizer Bob Bruce said Dodds would answer the questions on his Web site, www.doddsforcongress.com.

Craig has been a state representative for eight years and Democratic leader for two years. Sullivan is in his third term in the New Hampshire House. Shea-Porter, meanwhile, has been a vocal critic of incumbent Rep. Jeb Bradley for the last two years. 

The candidates were presented with four questions from a moderator, ranging from discussions about potential immigration reforms and decreasing the United States’ dependency on foreign oil to narrowing the income gap between the rich and the middle class and the use of U.S. forces in Darfur.

During the moderated question and answer period, the three candidates all gave similar answers, supporting some kind of immigration reform that couples enforcement of existing immigration laws with a way to integrate immigrants into society. “The answer is not to build a wall along the Mexico border and kick all of them out,” said Craig.

However, none of the candidates supported granting amnesty to illegal immigrants already living in the United States.

A question on why the income gap between the rich, the poor and the middle class has grown in the last few years also elicited similar responses. Craig said that employers are “treating workers like slaves,” while Shea-Porter argued that the gap has grown because the Bush administration and Congress have refused to increase the minimum wage. Sullivan wants to see more tax credits for homeownership, education and families, as well as federal programs that help the poor and middle class save money for future investment.

“We need to focus on how do we bring more folks into the middle class and how do we make more members of the middle class millionaires,” he said.

The three also supported the use of American military force to halt the genocide taking place in the Darfur region of Africa. Both Sullivan and Shea-Porter invoked memories of World War II when answering the question.

“We can’t stand around and talk about World War II and how right it was and let this happen to another group of people,” Shea-Porter said, adding that the United States is “in the wrong country doing the wrong work” in Iraq.

Much of the day was spent attacking incumbent Republican Rep. Jeb Bradley. When an audience member asked the candidates how they would respond to attack ads during the campaign, Craig and Sullivan both pledged they would fight back against any attack ads. Shea-Porter, however, took a more moderate approach.

"I won’t resort to personal attacks. I think those are ugly,” she said. “I plan to use his record and use his words to show he doesn’t represent the interests of New Hampshire.”

Later, Sullivan stressed that, while defeating Bradley is important, the candidates must offer more real solutions.

“In addition to pointing out Jeb Bradley’s faults, we have to offer something better,” Sullivan said.

The one place where the candidates did disagree slightly was on the subject of abortion. While Craig and Shea-Porter said that abortion is a private issue, Sullivan said he has a “deep, personal opposition to abortion.” Sullivan said the emphasis should be on preventing abortions by giving women access to affordable prenatal care, emergency contraception and other preventative measures.

During his closing remarks, Craig said this year’s mid-term elections will be like the 1994 “Republican Revolution,” but in reverse.

“Everybody knows the issues, everybody knows this administration is awful,” he said. “We can’t get rid of George W. Bush or Dick Cheney this year, but we can take back the Senate and the House,” he said.

The next candidates forum will take place on Sunday, May 7, at 6 p.m. at the Portsmouth City Women’s Club, which is hosting the event. For information, contact the New Hampshire Democratic Party at 603-225-6899.