NH-Sen: Lynch Is Out

New Hampshire Governor John Lynch is probably the most popular Democrat in the state, and seems like the ideal candidate to take on Senator Judd Gregg in 2010. However, today at a press conference he’s taken himself out of the running in pretty definitive fashion:

“I can tell you that although I don’t know what I’ll be doing in 2010, I’m not going to run for the United States Senate. So, that shouldn’t be a distraction as I continue to work on the budget.”

Given that Washington has seemed to be outside of Lynch’s comfort zone, however, his demurral shouldn’t be seen as too much of a surprise. Speculation will continue to focus on New Hampshire’s two Democratic representatives, Paul Hodes and Carol Shea-Porter.

44 thoughts on “NH-Sen: Lynch Is Out”

  3. In all honestly, I don’t think we can beat Gregg now.  I like Hodes, but I think Gregg is still popular in New Hampshire.  This is a blow for us.  For some reason, many governors don’t want to go to Washington: Freudenthal, Lynch, and hopefully NOT Brad Henry.

  4. I dont think we can beat Gregg without Lynch.  Face it folks, the political climate is going to turn against us and if Hodes or Shea-Porter cannot not muster a lead against Gregg while Democrats are still popular, I dont think they have much of a chance.  

  5. Lynch loves his state, loves his constituents, hates backroom dealing, etc. Washington is not his style. He’s BFF with Sheila Roberge and a lot of the other Republicans in the state house.

    He’s been the best Governor NH has had in a long, long while and I don’t fault him for not wanting to run.

  8. http://thehill.com/campaign-20…

    National Democrats have favored Hodes, seen as the more centrist of the two. Still, that hasn’t deterred Shea-Porter, who has a history of beating politicians to whom she had been expected to lose.

    Hodes has proved a more able fundraiser, though both he and Shea-Porter ended the 2008 election cycle with less than $100,000 in the bank. Through the end of September, Gregg maintained about $880,000 cash on hand.

    Would $880K be considered to be a lot or a little for a NH war chest?

  9. He’s not a Senator type.

    I’d like to see a poll to see how CSP and Hodes match up but I’d be inclined to prefer CSP. She seems like she would be more willing to run a tough campaign against Gregg unlike, say, Tom Allen. But I’d be perfectly happy to have Hodes. As long as one of them runs and they don’t both run.

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