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Benson is dumping millions into his campaign. He's a RINO.

In 1993 he gave major money to the Bill Clinton Inaugural Committee - that's enough for me to vote against him.

He ignored state Republican John Dowd in 1998 and gave money to Democrat Beverly Hollingworth, who was elected, giving the Democrats control of the New Hampshire senate.

In 1998 and 2000 Benson gave contributions totaling $10,000 to Democrat governor Jeanne Shaheen and not a penny to Republican nominees for governor Jay Lucas or Gordon Humphrey.

If Humphrey's ad's asking, "Is Craig Benson A 'Democrat in Republican Clothing?'" is negative campaigning then he should keep it up! Benson hasn't and can't answer the charges - they are all true. It doesn't matter how much money he raised for Bush - it matters that he's a Clintonite and a liar!

Benson lied when Humphrey confronted him about the private investigator hired by Benson to look into Humphrey's background. Humphrey and GOP candidates Bruce Keough and David Corbin all remember that Benson denied hiring Richard Billmire from Virginia. Benson pretends that the other three are the liars.

In June, the Benson campaign sent two "fake" letters to the Editor of the Lawrence Eagle Tribune. The letters were signed by New Hampshire residents from Chester and Danville, yet, when the Eagle Tribune checked with those New Hampshire residents, they hadn't given permission for the letters to be sent and knew nothing of them. Mike Denehey, Benson's hatchet man says, "a staffer sent the letters by mistake . . . I'm sure Gordon Humphrey never made a mistake."

The Humphrey and Keough campaigns sent a letter on June 20, to the New Hampshire Attorney General, Philip T. McLaughlin, requesting that he look into allegations of campaign finance irregularities within the Benson for Governor campaign, alleging that Benson's personal contribution of $1,425,000 to his own campaign is in violation of state election statutes. Benson has not agreed to the voluntary $655,000 cap, and continues to take individual contributions in excess of the $5,000 state limit.

A little over two weeks ago (June 18,) Humphrey led Benson by 37 percent to 32 percent in a poll commissioned by the campaign of Bruce Keough and undertaken by the Tarrance Group, a Washington pollster of national repute. Perhaps things are changing, but the folks I talk to think Benson is a rich fraud, and if he defeats Humphrey, New Hampshire will suffer.

The Benson ads call Humphrey a "career politician". Imho, that's negative - since it's a lie. Humphrey was a career airline pilot. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1978 and re-elected in 1984. In 1990, Humphrey honored a campaign pledge to limit himself to two terms and chose to return to New Hampshire. In 1991 and 1992, he served in the New Hampshire Senate. Since leaving office, Humphrey has built a successful consulting and international export business.

The fact is: Benson Lies. Humphrey's "negative campaigning" is all true and Benson hasn't denied it, while missing opertunities to set the record straight. If Benson wins the primary and faces Beverly Hollingworth whom he's contributed money to in the past, you're right . . . he just may take a walk and leave us with the Democrats he's supported in the past.