Congressman Charles Bass faces a political newcomer in the race for New Hampshire’s second Congressional District. Democrat Paul Hodes’ has led an often feisty campaign in his challenge to beat the five-term Republican incumbent. But as New Hampshire Public Radio’s Amy Quinton reports, it will take more than attitude to unseat Bass.
There are few options for a candidate without a well known name or a political track record. There's advertising and hitting the streets.
( I’m running against Charlie Bass… have you seen my ads?)
Democrat Paul Hodes has been working 14 hour days meeting and greeting potential voters on the campaign trail.
Congressional District two spans a vast area --- from the north country near Canada to the state’s border with Massachusetts.
On this day, the Concord attorney visits small businesses in a largely working class neighborhood of Nashua.
Shop owner Tai Ahmad says he’s never seen a Congressional candidate walk into his store.
(14 :44 I’ll be honest with you, I’m amazed. I will definitely look into who he is, what he wants to do and what he has to offer.)
At an auto shop on West Hollis St, Hodes tries to win over one voter who’s worried about health insurance.
(09 :33 I can’t even get health insurance, my son was sick and I couldn’t even get him to the hospital because we have no health insurance//
We’re going to open up the federal system so people can buy insurance, we’re going to give tax credits to small businesses, so they can help provide insurance for their employees….)
This retail politicking made a favorable impression in this largely Democratic area of Nashua but Hodes will need to reach much further it he hopes to win.
UNH pollster Andy Smith says over 90-percent of House members get re-elected, and so far most polls show Congressman Charles Bass with at least a 14 percentage point lead over Hodes.
(3:33 The problem the Hodes campaign has is they’re really fighting an uphill battle in that Charlie Bass is well known, he’s won reelection five times in the past, and for the most part voters know a lot about Bass)
Congressman Bass makes sure voters know certain facts about him.
Two years ago, one of his campaign commercials referred to him as a bit of maverick. During debates and on the campaign trial, Bass makes a point of telling how he's split with the Republican Party on several House votes.
(05 :27 My constituents can look back and see a whole series of votes I have cast that are not supported by the leadership in Washington, reimportation of drugs, a woman’s right to choose, stem cell research, an environmental bill and clean air act bill...)
Bass reinforces that message through campaign ads like this one.
It features the voice of the Republican’s quintessential maverick, Arizona Senator John McCain.
(31 :34 Go, Charlie, He’s real independent, I’m John McCain, and I’m like a lot of people in New Hampshire I’m proud to support Charlie Bass, I’ve seen it first hand, he’s a strong independent leader who’s fighting hard for you)
Bass also has the incumbent advantage of having raised more money in the race, more than a half million dollars.
Hodes has raised about 100-thousand less, and that includes 150-thousand of his own money.
Andy Smith says research has shown that the challenger usually has to raise three times more money than the incumbent to win a Congressional race.
To get the most of the money he has, Hodes has focused on trying to puncture the image of Bass as an independent. He says on the big issues such as the war in Iraq, taxes on the wealthy, drug benefits for seniors and education, Bass follows the White House lead.
(Sound from commercial)
This political commercial shows a finger-sized cartoon Congressman Bass, jumping into the pocket of George Bush.
Throughout the campaign, Hodes has called Bass “Pocket Charlie.â€
It’s something Charles Bass doesn’t find humorous at all.
(I’m not going to pretend to give my opponent any advice, funny commercials are funny commercials, if there’s no reality behind the joke it doesn’t have any effect on the objective, which is to get more people to vote for you.)
Maybe so, but Andy Smith says funny commercials do serve a purpose.
(I think we can’t underestimate the importance of humor in any election campaign, a candidate who can come out with a funny ad that’s more memorable is certainly going to have an advantage over somebody’s who’s putting out ads that aren’t particularly memorable)
But if Hodes tries to paint Bass as a caricature of a Republican loyalist, he does his best to avoid being tagged as the Democratic equivalent.
His criticism of big government and support for fiscal restraint echoes some of the most popular Republican lines.
(18 1:01 It’s not fiscally conservative to give tax cuts to the rich and spend this country into a disastrous deficit. Fiscal responsibility means not saddling our children with trillions of dollars of debt..)
This centrist stand is important in a distinctly moderate congressional district.
2nd district voters have elected only one Democrat since 1912.
But Democrats know that the Presidential battle between Kerry and Bush is going to drive voter turnout and recent polling gives Kerry an edge in the 2nd district.
If the district votes for Kerry, it could only help Hodes.
On the other hand, Congressman Bass has shown before that he can carry the district, even when up against better known candidates, and even when a Democrat presidential candidate carried the state.
For NHPR news, I’m Amy Quinton.
