Who's Bob Smith? Never heard of him.
Bob Smith is a former New Hampshire officeholder. He served on a small town shcool board in the 70's, ran for Congress in unsuccessfully in 1982 and successfully in 1984. He was elected to the Senate in 1990 and was narrowly reelected in 1996 against second-tier opponent. In 1999, he ran in implausible campaign for President. With no chance of winning the nomination, he became an independent in 1999. When the Chairman of a committee died a few months later, he became a Republican again and was allowed to assert his seniority to become chairman. In 2002, he was challenged for reelection by then-Gov. Jeanne Shaheed and faced certain defeat. But he was defeated in the primary by John Sununu, Jr., who went on to become Senator. He didn't respond to his defeat gracefully, as this news indicates.