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0000017a-15d9-d736-a57f-17ff8cfb0000NHPR's coverage of the 2014 midterm elections, local and national primaries. Click here for voter resources and mapsClick here for the schedule of debates in the congressional, US Senate, and gubernatorial races. (Oct. 20-23)Click here to hear all eight of our Rudman Center Conversations with the Candidates.Click here to hear our All Things Considered conversations with primary candidates in races for U.S. House, U.S. Senate and Governor.Primary 2014 Results:State-Level Results | Town-Level ResultsMeet the CandidatesGovernor: Maggie Hassan* | Walt HavensteinU.S. Senate: Scott Brown | Jeanne Shaheen*U.S. House, 1st District: Frank Guinta | Carol Shea-Porter*U.S. House, 2nd District: Marilinda Garcia | Ann McLane Kuster*[*Denotes incumbent]NHPR's Election 2014 coverage is sponsored in part by Altus Investment Group, Bergeron Technical Services, Goff Wilson, and Rath Young Pignatelli.

Elections 2014: Behind N.H.'s Political Ads & Polls

NHPR Staff/Campaigns

With their threatening music and grainy mug-shot photos, they warn of shady pasts and terrifying outcomes if a certain candidate is elected. We explore the themes presented, where the truth may or may not come in, and who’s paying for these ads.  And then, another election season pet-peeve: polls.

GUESTS:

  • Wayne Lesperance – professor of political science at New England College, and director of the Center for Civic Engagement, which includes the New England College Polling Institute.

CALLOUTS:

  • Andy Smith – professor of political sciences at the University of New Hampshire, and director of the UNH Survey Center
  • Jonathan Van Fleet - managing editor for content at the Telegraph of Nashua, and editor of PolitiFact-New Hampshire.

Here are the dueling political ads we played and discussed during the show:

LINKS:

  • PolitiFact-N.H.'s fact-checks on New Hampshire ads
  • NECand UNH's most recent polls for New Hampshire's major races
  • No single station aired more ads in a U.S. Senate race than WMUR-TV in New Hampshire: "If you’re a New Hampshire voter, though, you can’t turn on your TV set without seeing an ad – it works out to be pretty much a television ad about the US Senate race going up in New Hampshire, when you include the Boston stations too, once every about 6-7 minutes."

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