By all accounts, NH is witnessing record breaking campaign spending among republicans in the Gubernatorial race this year.
And we still have two months to go before the November election. The phenomenon has NHPR political reporter John Milne wondering if old fashioned Granite State politics is a thing of the past.
Political insiders have been talking about Craig Benson even before he started to run for governor.
He could finance his own campaign, some of them said.
What’s more, he could contribute toward a friendly Executive Council and a supportive majority in the state Senate.
Some leading Republicans welcomed his campaign, realizing that they could focus their fund-raising efforts on the Senate race.
A few predicted that Benson could be the future of New Hampshire’s Republican party.
This was not a universally enthusiastic prediction.
The doubters sounded a little like parents in the 1950s who were shocked by kids dancing to rock ‘n’ roll.
Benson represents a generational change in New Hampshire politics.
His predecessors were conservatives first, Republicans second.
That made them nickel-counting populists…..often independent of national G-O-P trends.
Benson’s generation is conservative as part of a package. Nearly all come from southern New Hampshire.
They’re team players, and the team is the national Republican party. Call them the blue suits.
The old-timers read The Union Leader.
The blue suits watch Channel 9.
Benson announced his candidacy across the street from the TV Station and he delivers his message through TV advertising there….. and in Boston.
The Union Leader has endorsed Benson’s primary rival, Gordon Humphrey.
Front page editorials employ the populist theme that Benson has too much money.
The paper also complains when rock musicians cuss during outdoor concerts.
Craig Benson in person comes across as a nice guy. He is soft-spoken.
Supporters say he still makes handshake agreements.
He shows up early for events like a recent lunch for small business leaders in Concord.
He buys the cold cuts and soda. He uses "network" as a verb. He says he’ll cut regulations.
Said Benson, "We need to make it easy for people to comply with the law and grow their businesses."
No one mentions corporate scandals. More unusual, no one brings up education financing.
Although nearly every one in the room is wearing a "Benson" pin, the candidate doesn’t take questions.
He tells supporters to check his Web site for details.
This lunch is indicative of the new generation in politics.
Benson isn’t just putting his money into T-V, although he reported dropping $900-thousand dollars on that medium since mid-August.
He has spent almost as much, $700-thousand dollars, on direct mail.
Another $200-thousand reportedly went to pollsters.
This is a new political strategy that says T-V ads are losing their effectiveness.
So Benson is trying some old tricks too.
He’s reaching out to interest groups like small business leaders.
Benson has also made his pitch to veterans and law enforcement officials in the last week just before the primary.
The Democrats, who lack the money for T-V, have been using direct mail throughout the campaign. Their coalitions just have different members.
If Benson is successful those insiders will be right – politics in this state will never be the same.
These will no longer be million dollar campaigns.
Tickets to these dances might well cost 10 million dollars.
The days of the sock hop are over…..welcome to the age of the political rave.
The old-timers will hate it.
For NHPR news, this is John Milne
