Governor Endorses Republican in Senate District 8 Race

EG1: For the last six years, Senate District 8 – a diverse district that includes parts of Sullivan, Cheshire, and Merrimac counties -- has been firmly in Republican hands.
Bob Odell has been the state senator here for three terms.
He beat his Democratic challenger handily in the last two elections.
But Democratic registrations are up 20% since 2006.
Republican registrations have grown a paltry 2%.
That makes this race the toughest one Odell has ever run.
Adding to Odell’s challenge is the popularity of his opponent, Democrat Jay Phinizy.
He’s been a house rep for 10 years and chairs the House Environment and Agriculture Committee.
Voters say both candidates work hard to serve their constituents.
But Governor Lynch may have tipped the scales when he endorsed Republican Bob Odell.
That angered many Democratic activists, like Marilou Blaine of Alstead.
TAPE: MB.LOUSY.WAV [I think it’s lousy. I really do. If he doesn’t support Jay, I think he should keep his mouth shut.]9 secs
In 2006, Blaine ran the Cheshire County campaign for Democrat Dave French, who ran against Odell.
She says Phinizy has been an outstanding environmental advocate who has won the endorsement of the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth.
And she has strong feelings about Odell.
BITE: MB.NOSUBSTANCE.WAV [He spreads himself around, Odell. He shows up at your Memorial Day parade and marches along with the band and everybody else in the parade and is there smiling with the town officials but I don’t think there’s much substance to the man. I really don’t.] 18 seconds
Blaine is so upset with Lynch’s endorsement that she’s considering writing in another democrat for governor on election day.
And she says she’s not alone.
But political analyst Dante Scala of the University of New Hampshire says Democrats shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds them.
Without Lynch, he says, the party wouldn’t have been able to secure the majorities in the house and senate that they have now.
And he’s not surprised by the governor’s endorsement.
BITE: SCALA1.wav [Certainly it is not unusual for the governor to put partisanship aside. And as much as it sometimes infuriates members of his own party, he certainly has a lot of success with doing so. He’s done this in the past in executive council races and he’s doing it now with Bob Odell. It’s part of his political makeup to sometimes act in a bipartisan way or a non partisan way.] 27 secs
Governor Lynch says he’s supporting Bob Odell because they’ve worked well together on education funding, health care, and economic development – especially on renovating Claremont’s mill yard and helping laid-off workers.
BITE: LYNCHBITE.WAV [I’d like to see him back. We have a good working relationship. He’s able to put partisan politics to one side and focus on working with me just trying to make a difference in the lives of the people of New Hampshire.] 10 seconds
But Representative Phinizy speculates that the governor endorsed Odell because Phinizy was a leader in the House fight to defeat the governor’s constitutional amendment on education funding – an amendment that Odell voted for.
It’s no secret that Phinizy is to the left of Lynch.
Unlike the governor, he supports a broad-based tax.
BITE: JP.NEWTAX2.WAV [I want to totally reassess the tax structure we have now. I frankly think I would like to take the business enterprise tax, the interest and dividends tax, and the statewide property tax -- I want to take those three what I call pernicious income taxes and replace them with one income tax that essentially would be more fair to the people across the board.] 21 seconds
While Odell hasn’t signed the pledge against an income tax, he says a broad-based tax is a bad idea.
BITE: ODELLTAXES.WAV [Right now, with our economy as fragile as it is, this to me would be the worst possible time for any new taxes or even fee increases.] 8 seconds
Both sides see Odell as a moderate Republican.
In fact, Alstead resident Rich Nalivenko, a conservative Republican activist, says he disagrees with Odell on social issues, especially abortion.
But Nalivenko, who has put up a huge Odell yard sign, praises the senator for his economic development work, his work following the Alstead floods, and especially for his accessibility.
BITE: NALIVENKO3.WAV [He’s accessible, he listens, and he communicates well. And he also works to get consensus. That’s pretty important especially in the kind of diverse district that he represents.] 12 seconds.
Odell won’t be here to watch the vote on election night – he’s out of state on a personal family matter.
With two strong candidates, District 8’s undeclared voters – a group larger than either the Democrats or the Republicans -- face a difficult decision on Tuesday.
And it’s even a dilemma for some Democrats.
The governor’s endorsement didn’t bother Stoddard Democratic activist Dita Englund, who says she wants legislators to work across party lines.
She’s been campaigning hard for Barack Obama and she’s contributed to Jay Phinizy’s campaign.
Still, a few days before the election, she hadn’t decided who to vote for.
BITE: DITA.UNDECIDED.WAV [This is very difficult because I know both men and they’re both very, very well qualified. I like both of them.] 8 seconds
They’ve both been so good for the state, she says, that no matter the outcome of this election, the legislature will lose one good lawmaker.
For NHPR News, I’m Elaine Grant.