Democratic state Sen. Burt Cohen visited Hanover Wednesday to rally support for his campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Cohen spoke at a Howard Dean meet-up held at the new senior center before sitting in on a senatorial symposium in Carson Hall hosted by WDCR-WFRD radio.
Cohen seeks to unseat Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, who has held the office for two terms.
Despite the difficulty of unseating an incumbent senator, Cohen expressed confidence that his message of change and his criticism of Gregg's record will resonate with voters in November.
"The more people learn about [Gregg], the less they like him," said Dan Vicuna, Cohen's press secretary.
Cohen said he would be "wearing out a lot of shoe leather" as he travels throughout New Hampshire over the next seven months. He plans to attack Gregg's strong involvement with the Republican party and his ties to the Bush administration, painting him as Bush's "lapdog."
"I think [Gregg's incumbent status] actually puts me at an advantage," Cohen said. "I think he will be running from Bush." Cohen went on to accuse Gregg of being in denial about the real effects of his policies, calling him aloof.
When asked what the central issue of the campaign would be, Cohen said "I've said it's the economy; Gregg has said it's terrorism." Cohen cited this difference in priorities as a desire on the part of Republicans to ignore the economic problems that Cohen believes they are responsible for.
Responding to recent figures that show a dramatic increase in jobs nationwide in March, Cohen maintained that New Hampshire has lost 26,000 manufacturing jobs in the past three years, and blamed Republican-supported policies such as the North American Free Trade Agreement for such losses. He also attacked Gregg for failing to fund the No Child Left Behind Act. "Sen. Gregg seems to be the only person in New Hampshire that doesn't get it," Cohen said.
Cohen's platform includes his proposed New Hampshire First Initiative, which would prevent any state telemarketing contractor from using outsourced labor, and which would require that, whenever possible, telemarketing contracts be awarded to bidders who operate in areas most in need of jobs. He responded to a recent statement by Gregg that warned against "overreacting" to recent job losses, calling Gregg "out-of-touch with the people."
Asked why he decided to move out of the state Senate and run for national office, Cohen said, "I've made a difference in a lot of people's lives, and that is very rewarding. I have a vision for America's possibilities. I want to take America in a new direction, and I think people are hungry for that."
Elisabeth Smith '05, president of the Dartmouth Young Democrats, admitted Cohen will face a challenge in attempting to unseat an incumbent.
"He's going up against an entrenched Republican incumbent who has a lot of support from the Republican National Committee," Smith said. "The Upper Valley is very Democratic, but the rest of the state has always been Republican."
