Swett's campaign has publicly questioned Kuster's lobbying experience, while the Kuster campaign has issued press releases outlining Swett's support for the Bush tax cuts in her 2002 run for Congress.
"We will continue to talk about the fact that [Kuster] has been a lobbyist in Concord for the past 20 years because it is something that is important to discuss," Meagan Coffman, Swett's campaign manager, said. "A lot of things she worked on were not necessarily in the interest of middle-class families."
Coffman said in an interview that as a lobbyist, Kuster unsuccessfully attempted to defeat both the 2006 House of Representatives bill requiring prescription records to remain confidential and the 1998 House bill requiring that patients' records be kept confidential.
"Ann Kuster was paid tens of thousands of dollars to defeat those bills," Coffman said. "And these are things that are going to be discussed."
When a Swett supporter asked a question regarding Kuster's lobbying experience in a June Valley News article, Kuster accused the Swett campaign of employing "smear" tactics, Coffman said.
In an e-mail to her supporters, Kuster responded to the statement, labeling it a "misleading attack."
"It was unfortunate that Swett would mislead voters rather than talk about the issues," Kuster's campaign manager Colin Van Ostern Tu'09 said. "Annie has never been a Washington lobbyist. She has worked here in the state of New Hampshire for businesses and nonprofits."
Kuster's campaign has criticized Swett for supporting the 2001 Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans, according to Van Ostern. A press release issued by Kuster recently said Swett needs to be held accountable for supporting the tax cuts.
Coffman said that Swett only supported the Bush tax cuts in 2002 because the package also included tax cuts for the middle class. Swett supports the expiration for tax cuts for the wealthy, but wants to extend the timeline for middle class families, according to Coffman.
Coffman said that the Swett campaign has acquired more than $1.15 million as of June 30.
The Kuster campaign has raised $1.3 million dollars since the campaign started just over a year ago, Van Ostern said.
"Most of that money is from individuals here in New Hampshire," he said. "It's not from big out-of-state interests or political action committees, and we have received over 5,000 donations of $20 dollars or less."
Since both Swett and Kuster announced their candidacies, the University of New Hampshire has conducted three different polls in February, April and July matching up both Democratic hopefuls against the Republican frontrunner, Charlie Bass '74. The most recent poll finds that Swett trails Bass by 17 percent, while in a similar poll, Kuster trails Bass by 18 percent. Although the Democrats would see a more competitive race against Republican candidate Jennifer Horn, Swett and Kuster would still only capture 32 percent and 31 percent of the vote, respectively, against Horn's 35 percent, according to the polls.
Bass, Horn and fellow Republican candidate Bob Guida will compete in the Republican primary election on Sept. 14.
"If we're going to be leading in any one of those groups, I want to be leading in the one with people who know they will definitely vote and have made up their minds about who they're voting for," Coffman said.
The Swett campaign has conducted its own polls for internal use only, according to Coffman.
Coffman said the Swett campaign was satisfied with a breakdown of the results that showed that of those who "definitely decided" to vote, 59 percent would choose Swett in a race against Bass.
"That's the point it's early, people have not really engaged yet, but of the people that are paying attention, we're doing very well," Coffman said.
According to the poll, 58 percent of those who will definitely vote will vote Kuster if she ran against Bass.
Kuster and Sweet are using different tactics to mobilize voters and garner support, including phone banks, canvases and public appearances.
"We are travelling the state and continuing campaigning," Coffman said. "[Swett] has been visiting factories and job sites, and if there's an opportunity to talk with people we take it."
Kuster is also running a "real grassroots" campaign, Van Ostern said.
Kuster has attended house parties hosted at the homes of supporters "almost every night," Van Ostern said. In the spring Kuster spoke at 30 house parties and has attended over 100 of these events since the campaign began, he added. Kuster attended a house party in Lebanon on July 28.
Coffman said the Swett campaign has been less focused on attending house parties due to the need to meet individuals who have not already established their support for a particular candidate.
"We've experienced that at house parties we have a lot of people who come and are excited and supportive and already know [Swett], and we are trying to focus on using her time to talk to and meet as many new people as possible," Coffman said.
Each campaign has been focusing on the economy Kuster has emphasized job creation in her advertisement and speeches while Swett has voiced her priority of fighting for the middle class in public appearances.
"The main focus of Kuster's campaign has been job creation, and she has been touring factories and job sites to talk with workers and managers about how they can reinvigorate the economy," Van Ostern said.
Coffman said Swett's focus on the middle class is central to her campaign, adding that her tough leadership will also be crucial in defeating Republicans in the general election.
"We need to be very mindful as Democrats of the fact that this will be a tough election," Coffman said. "We need to nominate a tough candidate who can take some blows, give some back, stand up and defend her record and her past and voice a positive plan down in Washington."
Kuster's son, Zach Kuster '11, is a student at the College.
