Democrat - Challenger
Endorsed for U.S. Senate by Council for a Livable World

The New Hampshire Senate contest between former Democratic Governor Jeanne Shaheen and incumbent Republican Senator John Sununu is looking more promising than ever for the challenger.

The political pros are upgrading Shaheen's chances. The authoritative political publication "The Hotline" compares Sununu's poor prospects to the situation of ex-Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who went down to overwhelming defeat in 2006. Washington Post political blogger Chris Cillizza described Sununu as the most vulnerable incumbent in the nation.

However, it must be remembered that in the 2002 election, Sununu won a close contest over Shaheen by 20,000 votes, 51% - 47%. In the six years since then, a political revolution has occurred in this once reliably Republican state. In 2006, both GOP incumbent House members went down to defeat. Democrats won a 14 - 10 majority in the state Senate, a 239 - 161 majority in the state house and a 3 - 2 margin on the state Executive Council. Democratic Governor John Lynch captured 74% of the vote. While Republicans still hold a small registration advantage, 50,000 more Democrats than Republicans showed up to vote in the recent New Hampshire presidential primary.

Jeanne Shaheen was born in St. Charles, Missouri. She earned a B.A. in English from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania in 1969 and a master's degree in political science from the University of Mississippi in 1973. She taught high school in Mississippi and New Hampshire and operated a small business. For years, Shaheen was very active with NARAL, a pro-choice organization.

Her initial involvement in politics was in Jimmy Carter's campaigns in 1976 and 1980 as she worked in the New Hampshire presidential primary. A talented political strategist, she managed Council for a Livable World Chairman Gary Hart's campaign for President in New Hampshire in 1984. In 1990, she was elected to the first of three terms in the state senate.

Shaheen's gubernatorial win in 1996 shocked the political world. A successful Governor, she was twice easily re-elected. After leaving the Governor's office, she served as director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and as national chair of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.

John E. Sununu, the son of John H. Sununu, former New Hampshire Governor and chief of staff to Pres. George H.W. Bush, has been a Bush loyalist, particularly on the Iraq war. He voted to authorize the war in 2002 and voted with the President on 19 out of 22 key Iraq votes in 2007. After one vote on March 18, 2007 against a deadline for withdrawal, he said: "I voted no because it's irresponsible to tell al-Qaida members or insurgents or other terrorists what day we're going to begin withdrawing and what day we're going to complete withdrawing."

Sununu criticizes opponents of the war. On May 21, 2006, he said: "Those that advocate an immediate withdrawal don't have the best interests of the Iraqi people at heart because that simply isn't what the democratically elected government in Iraq wants right now."

Sununu has also voted to proceed with the nuclear bunker buster and new low-yield nuclear weapons, opposed attempts to cut funding for National Missile Defense, supported the nomination of John Bolton to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and voted for the U.S.-India nuclear deal. Sununu has averaged a dismal 8% on Council for a Livable World's annual voting record. He supports President Bush on virtually every issue.

Jeanne Shaheen's positions are quite different. While she supported the authorization for the use of force in Iraq in 2002, she is now strongly opposed to the war. On March 11, she declared:

"We need to bring our troops home from Iraq so that we can put our focus on keeping our country safe, defeating terrorist threats in Afghanistan and Pakistan and reclaiming our ability to lead in the world."

When CENTCOM commander Admiral William Fallon, a critic of the rush to war with Iran, recently resigned, Shaheen criticized President Bush for listening only to military leaders who agree with his mistaken policies.

When Sununu voted in February to condone the use of torture by the CIA, Shaheen responded that the use of torture "undermines our national security."

Shaheen supports ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, opposes building a new generation of nuclear weapons and supports the Kissinger-Shultz-Nunn-Perry vision of moving toward a world free of nuclear weapons. She urges the United States to seek an international ban on space weapons while refraining from placing weapons in space.

While Shaheen's prospects are excellent, she will need to raise $10 million for an effective campaign. The Sununu name is still a formidable political asset in New Hampshire, although his support for the Iraq war has diminished his favorable rating among the voters. And it is always difficult to unseat an entrenched incumbent.

Jeanne Shaheen will be a welcome addition to the U.S. Senate. Her victory will help realize the super-majority necessary to stop the Iraq war and support multilateral engagement with the rest of the world.

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