With midterm elections only a month away, Republican politicians are already looking ahead to November 2012. In New Hampshire, efforts by the GOP to both unseat popular Democratic Governor John Lynch and fill a Senate seat vacated by Republican Judd Gregg have attracted high-profile public officials, such as former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
McCain appeared in North Hampton, N.H., on Saturday with Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte, who has led her Democratic challenger Rep. Paul Hodes '72 by as much as 15 percentage points, according to a WMUR Granite State Poll. Ayotte narrowly defeated Manchester attorney Ovide Lamontagne, considered the nominee of the Tea Party camp, on Sept. 15 for the party's nomination.
In the two congressional district elections, former Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta is running against Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., the incumbent for New Hampshire's 1st district seat. Republican Charlie Bass '74 faces Democrat Ann McLane Kuster '78 in the 2nd district.
McCain appeared with Ayotte again on Sunday to announce that he would not seek another nomination for the presidency, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.
His campaign stop this weekend was one of two that he has made to New Hampshire since his loss to President Barack Obama in 2008. Although McCain said he intends to stay out of the race in 2012, he addressed his party's future election plans, while calling New Hampshire residents "the most sophisticated voters I've ever encountered," according to the Union Leader.
"I promise you I will do everything in my power to make sure that New Hampshire has the first-in-the-nation primary," McCain said. "We must preserve that status."
In 2006, New Hampshire secretary of state, William Gardner, threatened to push the state primary forward as far as late 2007 after Democrats introduced a new calendar for the 2008 election year that would have put the Nevada caucus between the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. Several presidential contenders, including former Senator John Edwards, D-N.C., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., denounced the new arrangements, according to The New York Times. The changes were never enacted.
In spite of the talk surrounding the 2012 presidential elections, New Hampshire's high-profile political appearances are focused on midterm elections, according to Kunal Malkani '12, vice president of the College Republicans.
"I think first and foremost, it's about the 2010 elections. That's where Republicans are focused right now, including us College Republicans on campus," Malkani said. "I think that's really the priority, and I think all Republicans across the nation want to make sure that Republicans have a good showing this November, because that's going to have a really big impact on the course of the country over the next couple years."
Romney whom many political observers expect will be a front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2012 appeared on Sept. 25 as the keynote speaker of a state GOP convention, which he called a "John Lynch, Paul Hodes and Carol Shea-Porter farewell party," according to the Union Leader.
Romney told state Republicans that Obama is "at war with private enterprise in America," according to The Union Leader.
This year, Republicans believe they have a good chance at taking the governorship and building momentum for 2012, according to sentiments expressed by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour in the Union Leader. Former Assistant Attorney General John Stephen will face off against Lynch in the general election.
"I have confidence in the energy and organization of Stephen's campaign," Barbour, chair of the Republican Governors Association, said at the convention. "I'm inspired by Stephen's message of smaller government, less spending, lower taxes, economic growth and public safety."
As the first state in the nation to hold its primaries in both parties, New Hampshire appears poised to continue to influence the early success of a presidential candidate.
The early excitement of the 2008 presidential elections was unusual, according to Union Leader political columnist John DiStaso.
When Lynch went up on stage at a rally in 2006 to a sold-out crowd and suggested that Obama might run, someone shouted, "Run, Obama, run" and the audience erupted, DiStaso wrote.
The state is now experiencing similar hype concerning the Republican nomination and the weight it might hold in the 2012 presidential elections, according to DiStaso.
