New Hampshire, commonly referred to as a battleground state for presidential elections this decade, has taken on new importance in the election fervor this year, as a close race between incumbent Senator John Sununu, R-N.H., and Democratic challenger, former Governor of New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen, could likely be a deciding factor in which party will take the U.S. Senate majority.
In this close race, Sununu's campaign team believes the nation's economic downturn will emerge as the cornerstone issue.
"Consumers, families and small businesses across New Hampshire have been hit hard by the economic slowdown due in part to record energy prices and soaring health care costs," Sununu's campaign spokeswoman Stefani Zimmerman said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth. "That makes it even more important that we pursue a wide range of ideas, including permanent lower tax rates for New Hampshire's individuals and small businesses, a balanced energy plan and comprehensive health care reform."
Shaheen agrees that economic reform is needed, Kate Bedingfield, communications director for the Shaheen campaign, told The Dartmouth in an interview.
"What she hears traveling the state are a lot of concerns about the economy, the rising energy costs, the price of health care and the rising cost of college -- all going up at a time when wages and salaries are not," Bedingfield said. "For the last six years, Sununu has been in D.C. voting with [President George W.] Bush for a failed economic agenda."
Bedingfield added that Sununu has voted with Bush 90 percent of the time, has put the needs of Bush and the Republican party ahead of New Hampshire families, and has supported Bush's student loan cuts and bills to give tax subsidies to big oil companies.
"I think this race is a very clear case of the choice [that] voters have this November across the country," Bedingfield said. "New Hampshire is a very independent state. Voters here have the choice to support the status quo, the direction we are heading in or change course. This is the same question voters across the country will face."
Bedingfield also stressed the importance of youth voters in the 2008 election, adding that Shaheen's campaign believes students are primarily concerned with environment, bringing the troops home safely from Iraq and the economy.
"I think economic issues have a huge impact on students, especially as students struggle to pay student loans," Bedingfield said. "As they are coming into the workforce, they want to make sure there are good jobs."
Zimmerman believes that Sununu, who at 43 is the youngest member of the Senate, can more closely relate to student voters. In an election where every vote could make the difference, she added, college students appreciate his advocacy against technology taxes.
"Sen. John Sununu has been an effective voice on issues that are important to college students, including his successful efforts to ensure uninterrupted access to student loans and his leadership on passing the internet access tax ban which protects e-mails and instant messaging from taxation," Zimmerman said in the e-mail.
Both Sununu and Shaheen will continue campaigning throughout New Hampshire, and Shaheen intends to visit Hanover a number of times before Election Day, according to Bedingfield.
Shaheen visited campus this summer to speak on science and education, an event deemed a "huge success" by David Imamura '10, president of the Dartmouth chapter of the College Democrats.
The College Democrats will continue their support for Shaheen by providing campaign volunteers and targeting student voters, according to Imamura.
"As far as getting out the vote on campus, we have a state-of-the-art tracking system," he said. "We had it in 2006, and we used it to form a massive database that identified who the students supported back then. This year it will be the same thing on a bigger level."
The organization will also knock on every door on campus three times, conduct voter registration drives, bring people to the polls on Election Day and phone bank on a near-weekly basis, Imamura said. Most importantly, the organization will try to start a campus-wide dialogue about local candidates because "every election on the ballot counts," Imamura said.
"It is one thing to have a College [Democrat] knocking on your door and another if your friends are talking about local issues," he said. "On the surface, students think it doesn't matter, but when it comes to education spending, taxes and college loans, yes, the president has a hand in it, but the Senate has even more of a hand in it."
Jennifer Bandy '09, president of Dartmouth's College Republicans chapter, said her organization is prepared to be very active in their support of Sununu in this election, and she hopes to organize an event that will bring Sununu to campus.
"The best way to turn out the vote for Senator Sununu on campus is to get [students] excited about his record, focus on his tireless efforts on behalf of N.H. voters and give them the opportunity to interact with him directly," Bandy said.
The organization plans to phone bank and hold events to educate voters about Sununu's platform, as well as send volunteers to precinct walks and local Republican campaigns in an effort to increase support."
"The next 60 days will be critical for the Republican Party, but the momentum has shifted and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at the top of the ticket can only help in New Hampshire," she said.
Bandy added that this is a critical race for the national Republican Party and "one that we are determined to win."
Sununu and Shaheen also faced off once in 2002, when Sununu won by 4 percentage points. Although a late-June 2007 poll conducted by the American Research Group had Shaheen leading by as much as 57 percent to 29 percent, the race has tightened, and an early September poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies on behalf of the Republican party found Shaheen leads by 2 percent "" well-within the margin of error.