CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Republican Frank Guinta and Democrat Carol Shea-Porter are well-oiled rivals, now battling to represent New Hampshire’s 1st congressional district for the fourth consecutive election. But this time around, the race has a twist: Independent candidate Shawn O’Connor.
O’Connor is a former business owner who moved to New Hampshire in 2013. He initially ran as a Democrat, but switched to being an Independent after multiple feuds with state Democrats. He’s now hoping to seize on voter frustration at Washington and fatigue with Guinta and Shea-Porter, one of whom has held the seat since 2006.
“I think people are fed up with two career politicians who have made a huge amount of money,” O’Connor said, noting his chief promise to work for the minimum wage - about $15,000 annually - and donate the rest of his roughly $174,000 congressional salary to charity.
The 1st District covers eastern New Hampshire, including the cities of Portsmouth and Manchester. Shea-Porter held the seat from 2006-2010 and again from 2012-2014. Guinta won in 2010 and 2014. Of the two, Guinta appears in the more endangered position; he nearly lost a primary challenge and a mid-October Granite State Poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center found more voters view him negatively than positively. That’s likely due to a Federal Election Commission ruling last year that Guinta illegally took $350,000 in donations from his parents in the 2010 campaign.
O’Connor has positioned himself as both a Bernie Sanders-style progressive and someone who will work with both Republicans and Democrats. The New Hampshire Democratic Party tried twice to kick him off the ballot. A Granite State Poll released Monday shows Shea-Porter’s support going down as O’Connor’s goes up - and it has O’Connor with 14 percent support. Still, the poll shows Shea-Porter ahead of Guinta.
Republican Jeb Bradley, a state senator who represented the 1st District from 2002 to 2006, said he expects O’Connor to pull from both candidates and noted enthusiasm seems lacking for Guinta and Shea-Porter among voters.
“I think it’s unlikely that he wins, but I’ve seen as many of his ads as I have Guinta or Shea-Porter, so he’s making a real pitch,” Bradley said of O’Connor. “I think in this topsy-turvy cycle, he’s got a chance at it.”
O’Connor’s up with four television ads, thanks in part to $1.2 million he personally loaned his campaign. He also secured himself a spot in televised debates and won several newspaper endorsements. It’s the first time in recent memory that a third-party candidate has appeared on a debate stage in a major New Hampshire race.
Dean Spiliotes, a longtime New Hampshire political observer, said he’s been surprised to see O’Connor revive his candidacy after a tumultuous start. O’Connor previously accused Shea-Porter of starting a rumor that he committed domestic violence, although he couldn’t provide concrete evidence to back up his claim. The state Democratic Party then accused him of seeking payment in exchange for dropping out of the race, a claim that also went unproven. Then, O’Connor falsely accused a popular Manchester restaurant owned by a Democrat’s family of having a problem with rats.
“At the time that stuff was happening, it just seemed to me like he was sort of marginalizing himself,” Spiliotes said.
But some voters are looking for a candidate like O’Connor. Faith Sheridan, a Democrat from Madbury, said she’d probably vote for O’Connor because she likes his stance on combating climate change.
She also wants a change in Washington.
“I want to send a message that the status quo is not what I want anymore,” she said.
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