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The ENEMY forged the stolen steel Delighted at the pain we would soon feel A hot branding iron to burn a 9 and 11 In the hearts of all righteous under Heaven The demons smiled and admired their work Then dedicated it with an unholy curse The plans were laid well, the deceptions intact With stooges called "martyrs" they began the attack They boarded the planes with thin, tight-lipped smiles Politely nodding to each small child - In a short time they’d know TERROR too real When their KILLERS captured the pilot’s wheel May the TWIN TOWERS of bright beacon...

Bolstered by independent voters, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen holds a narrow lead over U.S. Rep. John E. Sununu in their epic U.S. Senate battle, according to two new polls. A third survey puts Sununu ahead. The WMUR-UNH poll shows Shaheen leading by 4 percent. An American Research Group survey puts Sununu up by 2 percent. A Franklin Pierce College-WNDS poll gives Shaheen a 5 percent lead. According to the WMUR-UNH poll of 680 likely voters, Shaheen leads 46 percent to 42 percent, with 2 percent favoring Libertarian Ken Blevens, 2 percent writing in someone such as Sen. Bob Smith, and 7...

FRANKLIN PIERCE COLLEGE/WNDS-TV POLL SHOWS SHAHEEN LEADING SENATE RACE; BENSON, BRADLEY, BASS IN FRONT OF DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGERS (RINDGE, NH) -- The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce College announced that a FPC/WNDS-TV survey of 933 Granite State voters indicates that Democratic Governor Jeanne Shaheen has a five point lead over Republican Congressman John E. Sununu in the hotly contested race for U.S. Senate. The survey, with a margin of error of +/- 3% for the statewide races, was conducted over a four-day period focusing on the U.S. Senate, Gubernatorial and Congressional races. U.S. Senate Of 926 voters polled,...

THE WMUR / UNH POLL University of New Hampshire Survey Center DOWN TO THE WIRE By: Andrew E. Smith, Ph.D. 603/862-2226 October 31, 2002 UNH Survey Center www.unh.edu/survey-center DURHAM, NH -- Heading into the final weekend of the campaign, New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen holds a narrow lead over her Republican rival, Congressman John Sununu, in the race for U.S. Senate. These findings are based on the latest WMUR / UNH Poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. The WMUR / UNH Poll is sponsored by WMUR-TV of Manchester, New Hampshire. Six hundred eighty (680) New Hampshire...

A new poll released by the American Research Group shows the US Senate race in NH remains too close to call. John Sununu is leading Jeanne Shaheen 48% to 46%, with 1% for Libertarian Ken Blevens, and with 5% undecided. According to ARG, Shaheen's momentum from last week has stalled as undeclared voters become increasingly turned off by the negative advertising. This is causing an increase in the proportion of registered Republicans voting on Tuesday. (10/31/02) Shaheen Sununu All 46% 48% Rep. 13% 85% Dem. 82% 10% Ind. 55% 39% Benson Fernald All 52% 36% Rep. 90% 3% Dem. 4%...

A write-in effort on behalf of incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Smith has helped Democrat Jeanne Shaheen's Senate campaign against Republican John E. Sununu and could tip the balance on Election Day, a key pollster said yesterday. Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, said data suggest the write-in campaigns could make a 2 to 4 percent difference by swaying Smith supporters to write in Smith, vote for Shaheen or cast no vote at all. "It's a reason why Shaheen could win this race," Smith said. "This is the most interesting thing of this campaign so far."...

CONCORD – A new independent poll gives Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen her largest lead of the fall campaign in her U.S. Senate battle with Republican Rep. John E. Sununu. The Becker Institute survey of 401 households on Oct. 22-23 had Shaheen leading with 48 percent to 42 percent for Sununu and 2 percent for Libertarian Party nominee Ken Blevens. The other 8 percent of voters were undecided. The survey has a margin of error of up to 5 percent for statewide races and up to 7 percent in each congressional district. John Becker said since July, attack ads launched against...

WHO ARE THEY? They are neither ghosts nor vampires. Call them The Undecided. But soon they will rise and they will decide the U.S. Senate race. They are few in number, and if either Jeanne Shaheen or John E. Sununu had a wide lead, they wouldn’t matter. But most polls show Shaheen with a small lead — 3 to 6 percent. Most polls show The Undecided in the 6 percent range. They matter. We’ve spoken with pollsters watching very closely from the outside. And we’ve spoken with pollsters on the inside. They tell us that most of The Undecided are...

This is in today's Union Leader, but not on their website: Sheheen 48, Sununu 42, 8 undecided, Blevens (Libertarian) 2. The source is Becker Institute in Maine. The poll was done for NH business members. The same poll in July was Sununu 42, Shaheen 41, undecided 12. The poll was done of 401 likely voters, October 22, 23 and has a margin of error of 5%

The last pollster holdout this week concluded like all others that the U.S. Senate race is too close to call. The American Research Group has consistently over the past 15 months had U.S. Rep. John E. Sununu far out in front of Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen. But on Thursday, ARG released a poll showing Sununu ahead 48 percent to 46 percent, which is a dead heat since the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. ARG President Dick Bennett said the attack ads launched by Shaheen’s campaign and the New Hampshire Democratic Party have turned...

Thanks to undeclared voters, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen has pulled about even in her U.S. Senate race against U.S. Rep. John E. Sununu, according to a poll released yesterday. Sununu, a Republican, had the support of 48 percent of those polled by the American Research Group. Shaheen, a Democrat, had 46 percent, with 6 percent undecided. The telephone poll of 600 likely voters was conducted Sunday through Tuesday. Its margin of error, plus or minus 4 percentage points, means the candidates are about even. Though Sununu led in earlier polls by the same group, Shaheen has been gaining ground, particularly among...

Received this in my email box tonight http://www.rnc.org/flash/bushsavestheday.html

MORE MOMENTUM FOR SHAHEEN? A pollster who has long had Sununu leading Shaheen now has the race too close to call. The American Research Group’s latest poll has Sununu over Shaheen, 48 to 46 percent, with 6 percent undecided as undeclared voters continue to shift heavily in her favor. Just a week ago, the same ARG had Sununu up by 8 percentage points. ARG now also has Craig Benson over Fernald, 52 to 33 percent, Bradley over Clark, 53 to 39 percent and Bass over Swett, 54 to 35 percent.

We are a little over two weeks away from the election. So I ask you the same question I asked myself. Who is going to win the battle for the senate? I have done extensive research and watched the trends for a while now, just like many of you. I finished a week ago a statistical analysis of voting trends in Georgia. Let me also state that most elections are referendums on the incumbents. Candidates have to expose the incumbent. Dole failed to do this in 1996. So here are my predictions. GA- Max Cleland is in trouble. Do not...

<p>NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — President Bush yesterday hit fund-raisers in Georgia and Florida for embattled Republicans — including his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush — kicking off a money drive that will culminate with 14 straight days of campaigning before the Nov. 5 elections.</p>

Also: a Shaheen internal poll released tonight showed Shaheen with a small lead. The poll conducted by Alan J. Quinlan of Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research, Inc. on October 15-16, 2002 among 500 likely November voters showed Shaheen leading Sununu 45%-43%. americanresearchgroup.comAmerican Research Group, Inc.814 Elm Street  Manchester, NH 03101603/624-4081  603/627-1746-FAX The New Hampshire Poll October 17, 2002 Republicans Continue to Hold Leads in New Hampshire as US Senate Race Tightens Republicans John Sununu, Craig Benson, Jeb Bradley, and Charles Bass continue to hold their respective leads over Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Mark Fernald, Martha Fuller Clark, and Katrina Swett with only the race...

Freepers.......time is almost GONE to help Republicans WIN BACK the Senate! We need to contribute money NOW in order to help. I just gave $100 by credit card today to the National Republican Senatorial Committe. Please match my challenge, or at least contribute something.. Click here to visit the NRSC to help. If you prefer to give to individual campaigns, here is a GREAT site with discussion of the Senate races, including the 7 seats that are up for grabs. This site also has a link to each of the Senate campaign websites. One of the states will SURPRISE you!...

CLOSE AND NASTY. For Republican partisans concerned about the status of the U.S. Senate race between John E. Sununu and Jeanne Shaheen, President George W. Bush arrives at the right time. It’s just so happens that Shaheen appears to be gaining ground. We’ve learned of a Republican poll showing that an 8-point Sununu lead has shrunk to a dead heat. The National Republican Senatorial Committee added a Senate preference question to another GOP candidate’s poll, and the result has the race tied at 45 percent. Bush will raise about $200,000 for Sununu at a midday fundraiser at the Center of...

I heard on the radio this afternoon....results of a Greenberg poll, done for Shaheen, as follows: Shaheen 46 Sununu 44 Libertarian 1 Undecided 9

Tuesday, September 24, 2002 Benson predicts 'easy' win over Fernald By Dave Levinthal Staff Writer LONDONDERRY -- Craig Benson's handlers said they expected a few dozen die-hard backers to attend last night's campaign strategy session. Instead, 300 people showed up, packing a conference room at the Executive Court. If this is a harbinger of how voters react to the multimillionaire Republican gubernatorial candidate, Benson says he'll crush his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Mark Fernald, D-Sharon. "It's going to be so easy to win if we stick to the issues. These people pretend that they're smarter than the rest of us,"...

Fernald income tax plan is flawed says Benson By TOM FAHEY State House Bureau Chief CONCORD —Republican candidate for governor Craig Benson argued yesterday that state Sen. Mark Fernald’s income tax plan will cost taxpayers more, bring spiraling tax rates and cost families income in the long run. Fernald, a Democrat from Sharon, is running on a platform that calls for an income tax, which he says is the fairest way to raise the same amount of money for education. He proposes a 4 percent tax to raise money that would cut state and local property taxes in half and...

WASHINGTON – Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., who lost his reelection bid to Rep. John E. Sununu in Tuesday’s primary election, skipped a Republican Unity Breakfast yesterday morning in New Hampshire so he could cast an important vote on the Senate floor, his staff said Wednesday. But Smith did not vote on yesterday’s first order of business, a 10 a.m. roll call vote on the nomination of Timothy J. Corrigan of Florida to be a U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Florida. The nomination was approved, 88-0. Smith also failed to vote in the afternoon on two amendments to...

THE BUYOUT. There are many reasons for Craig Benson to lose on Tuesday. Do regular folks trust multi-millionaires who say they're running for office just to give something back to the people and the state? Hmmm. Craig Benson has lots of friends in the business world. Even as a private citizen, his wealth has made him a powerful man. Especially in this era of corporate crises, put a powerful private sector person in a position of public power and — well — you get it. Craig Benson comes across as an affable multi-millionaire, though — almost a regular guy. And...

BENSON, FERNALD OPEN LEADS FOR NH GOVERNOR By: Andrew E. Smith, Ph.D. 603/862-2226 UNH Survey Center DURHAM, NH -- Craig Benson has maintained his lead in the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination while Bruce Keough has passed Gordon Humphrey for second place. In the Democratic primary, Mark Fernald has opened a significant lead over Bev Hollingworth. These findings are based on the latest WMUR Poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center for WMUR-TV, Manchester, NH. Five hundred ninety-one (591) likely primary voters were interviewed between August 26 and September 3, 2002 (margin of sampling error, +/-4...

ON PAGE ONE of today's paper, we endorse Rep. John Sununu for Senate. Sununu is not only the best choice to beat Jeanne Shaheen in November, but he will be a stronger, more consistent conservative voice in the Senate than would Bob Smith. Rather than rehash our reasons for endorsing Sununu, which we have given in several editorials in the past few weeks as well as on the front page today, we thought our readers would like to see why National Review, the premier conservative publication in America, chose Sununu over Smith: "Republicans in New Hampshire must decide whether to...

ONE VERY IMPORTANT reason why we favor Gordon Humphrey for governor is that he keeps his word. That is not an easy trait to find these days in political circles — or in some business ones, for that matter. But Humphrey has never been your typical politician, and it is truly laughable for him to be called a "career politician" by primary foe Craig Benson. Here is what we mean about Humphrey's word and his record: He said he would serve just two terms as U.S. Senator. Keeping such a promise is so rare, more than a few people were...

GORDON HUMPHREY is running for the Republican nomination for governor. We thought you’d like to know, just in case all the information you’ve received about Humphrey’s campaign has come from his July press releases. If that’s all you had to go on, you might think he is some random war veteran who likes school choice and hates Craig Benson, who, by the way, also is running for the GOP nomination for governor. These are the headlines of all of Humphrey’s July press releases we could find: July 8: “Humphrey airs new ads: Parental choice in education” July 8: “Humphrey campaign...

John DiStaso:Benson’s statementsreturn to haunt him By JOHN DiSTASO Senior Poltical Reporter GRANITE STATUS 07-11-02Benson feels heat onRepublican credentials 07-04-02The time to sweat is here 06-27-02McCain backs Barrowswith fundraiser 06-20-02Tanks, wildfires and thedebate no one discussed 06-13-02What about Bill Gardner? 05-30-02Swett’s heart-tugging ads aim to close margin with Bass 05-23-02Benson denies backingenterprise tax CANDIDATE CRAIG BENSON is vowing to veto more taxes, but nine years ago, businessman Benson said Bill Clinton’s call for $16 billion in new taxes wasn’t enough. And, although a son of Meldrim Thomson may think that Benson is “just like my dad,” the former governor’s...

CONCORD — The heat index climbed in the state’s gubernatorial campaign yesterday, highlighted by a battle between the two leading GOP candidates. Former U.S. Sen. Gordon Humphrey launched a new ad targeting GOP rival Craig Benson over his role as executive with Cabletron Systems and Enterasys Networks. Benson is co-founder of the former Cabletron System Inc. computer networking company. He serves on the Enterasys audit committee. Enterasys has floundered in the stock market, selling at less than $2 a share. It faces shareholder suits and accounting questions. Also yesterday, GOP candidate Bruce Keough said he will veto any new spending...

Aided by high-dollar fundraisers in Hollywood and New York, Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen this spring raised nearly as much money for her U.S. Senate run as her two Republican rivals combined. And in the tight Republican primary for the 1st District U.S. House seat, Portsmouth businessman Sean Mahoney continues to lead in fundraising, but nearly 80 percent of the $577,000 he has raised so far has come from his own wallet. Meanwhile, Democratic 1st District candidate Martha Fuller Clark’s fundraising has surpassed the $1 million mark. Yesterday was the deadline for federal candidates to file campaign finance reports for the...

GOP Primary: Craig Benson, 43% Gordon Humphrey, 23% Bruce Keough, 15% Democrat Primary: Mark Fernald, 31% Bev Hollingworth, 32% Head-to-Head: Benson-Fernald: 47-36 Benson-Hollingworth: 48-35 Keough-Fernald: 37-37 Keough-Hollingworth: 35-40 Humphrey-Fernald: 39-44 Humphrey-Hollingworth: 38-49

Republican former state Rep. David Corbin of Stratham says he will officially announce Tuesday that he is dropping his bid for governor. Corbin, 30, a political science instructor, told The Union Leader today he will instead run for the District 24 state Senate seat held by six-term Democrat Burt Cohen of New Castle. “In my five years of being active in New Hampshire politics, the one tendency I’ve viewed as destructive in the Republican-conservative movement is the placement of ego over principle,” Corbin said. “Far too often in our primaries, late in the game they become divisive to the detriment...

americanresearchgroup.comAmerican Research Group, Inc.814 Elm Street  Manchester, NH 03101603/624-4081  603/627-1746-FAX The New Hampshire Poll March 29, 2002Quarterly Survey - March 2002The following results are based on 558 completed telephone interviews conducted March 25 through 28, 2002 among a random sample of registered voters in New Hampshire. A total of 198 registered Republicans, 144 registered Democrats, and 216 undeclared (independent) voters were interviewed. The theoretical margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 4.25 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinions are evenly split. Question Wording:If the election for US Senate were being held...

White House draws bead on state elections Some GOP candidates feel neglected after president sides with their opponents in Republican primaries. The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- From their White House offices, President Bush's political advisers are calling the shots for the Republican Party's midterm election campaign. They help recruit candidates, raise money, soften the GOP's image and even redraw legislative districts. The overall operation, headed by White House adviser Karl Rove and political director Ken Mehlman, reflects a top priority of the Bush presidency: Regain control of the Senate for Republicans and retain the narrowly split House. "The president will...

One man spent his career building weapons systems. Another one spent his career using them in the U.S. Army. Together, Republicans Gary Hoffman and Jim Steiner -- who both say they will enter New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District race next month -- will add a half-century's worth of military-related expertise to this hotly-contested campaign where defense and anti-terrorism issues are dominating early. Hoffman, 46, of Bedford, has worked in high-level positions for several defense contracting corporations, while Concord resident Steiner, 45, is a lawyer and a former Army Green Beret having served in the U.S. special forces. "I suppose we're...