2 years ago
Democrats are once again meddling in a GOP primary — this time in a competitive New Hampshire House district, with the goal of elevating a far-right candidate over a moderate backed by GOP Gov. Chris Sununu.
The intervention in the race to take on Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster comes from an unlikely source: Democrats Serve, a new PAC that backs Democratic candidates with public service backgrounds. The group has booked some $94,000 on cable TV to boost Bob Burns, a pro-Trump Republican who is campaigning as the “only pro-life candidate” in the Sept. 13 primary.
“Meet Bob Burns, the ultra conservative candidate for Congress,” a narrator says in the 30-second spot, which includes a picture of Burns and former President Donald Trump. “Burns follows the Trump playbook on immigration, the border and guns.”
Burns has raised far less money than his chief rival, Keene Mayor George Hansel, who Democrats feel would be a far more formidable candidate against Kuster. The ad could raise Burns' name ID and potentially endear him to conservative voters in the final stretch of the race. It will run in the Boston and Burlington, Vt. markets on Fox News Channel, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact.
“I’m also the only pro-Trump, unapologetic conservative,” Burns says in the spot, which uses footage of him at a campaign event. “I’m against pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens. I want to build the wall and I’m an America First candidate.”
President Joe Biden carried the district by 9 points in 2020, and Republicans are hoping to contest the seat in the midterm election.
Hansel appears better positioned than Burns to pick up crossover voters. He describes himself as “pro-choice” and has been an advocate for fighting climate change. He nabbed an early endorsement from Sununu, a popular governor who has won statewide by casting a centrist profile in a purple state. Hansel also once appeared at a Black Lives Matter rally in Keene, drawing attacks from his opponent.
Burns, who has been active in local New Hampshire politics for more than decade, has cut a far more conservative profile. He unsuccessfully ran for the GOP nomination against Kuster in 2018, and in 2010, he beat then-incumbent Chris Pappas for Hillsborough County Treasurer. Pappas now represents the state's other congressional district.
Burns supported overturning Roe v. Wade. His website notes that he opposes vaccine mandates, advocates for “national reciprocity for conceal carry permits'' and calls critical race theory “a toxic ideology that instills in impressionable minds a cultural self-loathing and racial resentment.” Those positions may appeal to GOP primary voters — but they could turn off moderate Democrats and independents in the fall.
Still, Burns has far fewer resources for his campaign than Hansel. He’s aired fewer than $16,000 in TV ads compared to Hansel’s more than $150,000, according to AdImpact.
National Democrats have waded into several GOP primaries this cycle to boost candidates they felt would be easier to beat in the November general election. These forays have had varying degrees of success — and attracted some intra-party criticism. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee successfully meddled in Rep. Peter Meijer’s (R-Mich.) primary earlier this month, aiding a candidate who denies the validity of the 2020 presidential election.
Other Democratic groups have played in state and federal races in Colorado, California, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
In a brief statement, a Democrats Serve spokesman did not openly admit to trying to pick their opponent: “We’re running a negative ad against Bob Burns because we want Granite State voters to know that he’s too extreme."
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