As the dust settles following New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg's commerce secretary nomination, and his subsequent withdrawal as a nominee, leading contenders in the 2010 race for his Senate seat are already maneuvering, though primaries are more than a year away.
Gregg, a Republican who was President Barack Obama's nominee for commerce secretary, withdrew his name from consideration last Thursday, citing "irresolvable differences" with the new administration, and announced that he would not seek re-election to his Senate seat. Democrats, even before Gregg's announcement, were already planning to strongly contest the seat in 2010.
Rep. Paul Hodes '72, D-N.H., announced his intention to run for the Senate seat on Feb. 4.
"Hodes is getting out there early to try and discourage other people on the Democratic side," government professor Linda Fowler said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Hodes's communications' director, Mark Bergman, declined to comment about the Senate race.
A fellow Dartmouth alumnus -- former New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Joseph Nadeau '59 -- may challenge Hodes for the seat. Nadeau announced last Monday that he hopes to make a final decision about whether to run by fall.
Nadeau, who has never held elected office, was appointed to the state Supreme Court in 2000 by then Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who now represents New Hampshire in the Senate.
While on the New Hampshire Supreme Court, Nadeau authored two key decisions affirming the power of the judiciary. Nadeau argued that the New Hampshire Supreme Court has authority under the state constitution to regulate the state's bar association, and that the Court has the sole authority to discipline the state's judges.
Nadeau told Politico.com that he was motivated to run for the Senate by the president's call to serve.
"President Obama has challenged everybody to think beyond their usual routine to see what their contribution can be, and I'm going to see whether there's something I can do beyond the judiciary," he said in his announcement.
Several other Democrats may also consider running for the Senate seat, including N.H. Gov. John Lynch and Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, according to multiple media reports.
Lynch, however, has said that he will not run for the Senate seat.
"My gut feeling is that Lynch is more likely considering another term as governor, as he has proven over and over again that he has superb executive skills," Joan Ashwell, chair of the Strafford County Democratic Committee and a long-time New Hampshire political operative, said. "[The Senate requires] a different skill set, even though people move back and forth between them. Jeanne Shaheen is a perfect example."
Shea-Porter has not decided whether to run in the 2010 Senate race, Jamie Radice, the congresswoman's communications director, said.
Dartmouth Medical School professor Jay Buckey, who briefly sought the Democratic nomination for the 2008 Senate race, has confirmed that he will not vie for the spot.
No Republican candidate has officially announced an intention to run.
Former Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., who was elected to the Senate in 2002 but lost his re-election bid last November to Shaheen, is a likely contender.
Other potential Republican candidates include former U.S. Reps. Charles Bass '74 and Jeb Bradley. Bass was elected to the House in 1994 and served until 2007, after Hodes defeated him in 2006. Bradley, who was elected in 2002, lost to Shea-Porter in 2006.
Jennifer Horn, a Republican and former radio talk-show host who challenged Hodes in 2008, has said she is strongly considering a bid for the Senate in 2010. Grant Bosse, whom Horn defeated to secure the Republican nomination last year, is also reported to be considering a bid.
Bass, Horn and Bosse are also reportedly considering campaigns for Hodes's House seat.
"You're in a spot right now where a lot of people are thinking of running, but no one is sure what they're running for yet," Ryan Williams, the communication director for the New Hampshire Republican Party, said.
On the Democratic side, Katrina Swett, a veteran activist and wife of former U.S. Rep. Dick Swett, D-N.H., will launch a bid for Hodes's House seat, according to several Democratic Party sources.
In 2008, Swett launched a campaign for the Senate seat currently held by Shaheen, but later withdrew. Concord attorney Ann McLane Kuster '78 has also said she is seriously considering a run for the House seat. Kuster is the College's lobbyist in the New Hampshire capital and is on the Dartmouth Alumni Council and the Board of Visitors for the Tucker Foundation.
Twenty-three-year-old state Rep. Scott Merrick may also make a House run. Merrick, who knocked on every door in the district to narrowly win his state seat in 2004, is currently on the Democratic leadership team in Concord, David Imamura '10, president of the Dartmouth College Democrats, said.
Merrick's office could not be reached for comment by press time.
