Six months after losing her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to Republican Frank Guinta, Carol Shea-Porter has announced her intention to run again. The Rochester Democrat will seek a return to the seat she held from 2006 to 2010. 

In an e-mail sent April 14, Shea-Porter vowed to continue fighting for the “bottom 99 percent of Americans.” Her campaign motto is “Running for the rest of us.”

“I was honored to pass legislation to help active duty soldiers and veterans, families, working men and women, senior citizens, and students,” Shea-Porter said. “I am running again because I believe we must keep America the land of opportunity and fairness for your children and mine.”

Shea-Porter defeated incumbent Republican Jeb Bradley in 2006 to win a seat representing New Hampshire’s First Congressional District. She was reelected in 2008 but lost to Guinta in a Republican sweep of Congressional races last November.

If elected in 2012, Shea-Porter said she would work to invest in education and renewable energy, foster job creation, and reduce the national debt without dismantling essential programs. She accused the Republican-led Congress of passing legislation that hurts average Americans and caters to special interests.

N.H. GOP spokeswoman Christine Baratta responded to Shea-Porter’s announcement with a statement calling her a “radical tax-and-spend liberal who is in lock step with the Obama/Pelosi agenda.” Baratta criticized Shea-Porter for voting in favor of the national health care reform bill and supporting the economic stimulus plan.