FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 24, 2012
Media Contact: Carolyn McKinney, chairman, RLCNH, 603-769-4264, chair@rlcnh.org
RLCNH RELEASES SESSION SCORECARD, USES BOLD VOTING RECORD STANDARD TO ENDORSE INCUMBENTS
In Order to Ensure Best Republicans Win Primaries, RLCNH Introduces New ‘Recommended’ Candidate Level
CONCORD, N.H.—With the premiere of its Legislative Scorecard that rates representatives and senators on their faithfulness to conservative values, the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire is setting a new bar for incumbents that will hold them accountable to the only political direction that will ensure liberty and prosperity in New Hampshire.
“The RLCNH intends to drive the agenda for the Republican Party in the coming years, and our new scorecard will be one of the tools that we use for this end,” said Carolyn McKinney, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “While we still intend to promote the best outcome for Republican primary elections by recommending candidates who perform well on our incumbent scorecard or candidate survey, we will only endorse and actively support candidates who have truly exhibited a strong commitment to the principles that make our state and country great. Our endorsements will be reserved for the best of the best.”
The 2012 RLCNH Legislative Scorecard, attached to this e-mail and available at www.rlcnh.org/2012scorecard, is the culmination of the organization’s two-year effort to track and advocate for or against bills that either advanced or retracted the common sense principles of limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility and free markets. In its weekly RLCNH Report sent to legislators and activists, the RLCNH supported 217 bills and opposed 26 bills during the two-year session. The bills supported or opposed in the various RLCNH Reports are the basis for the Legislative Scorecard.
Clearly, the RLCNH could not identify how legislators voted on each of these bills, because some of them did not have a roll call vote. However, for each tracked bill with a roll call, the RLCNH scored all of the relevant roll call votes and divided their weight by the number of roll calls for that bill. Additionally, the RLCNH doubled the weight for each roll call vote that was featured in one of its weekly Action Alerts. In total, the RLCNH scored 223 House roll call votes and 110 Senate roll call votes and used those votes as the basis of its score for incumbents.
“From now on, we will be holding incumbent representatives and senators to a higher standard than new candidates entering the political arena for the first time,” McKinney said. “As many freshmen legislators showed this session, citizens enter the New Hampshire Legislature with an intent to promote and restore the ideals of our founders. Incumbent legislators tend to lose their principles the longer they remain connected to the bureaucrats and lobbyists who attempt to influence legislation. We want to reverse this trend by reminding incumbents why they ran for office and holding them accountable to their promises.”
As such, only incumbents with a score of 85 percent or above on the scorecard were considered for endorsement. Some incumbents with this score, however, did not earn an endorsement because their voting record did not reflect their overall understanding of liberty. Incumbents who scored between 80 percent and 85 percent were considered for a recommendation, a lower standard than an endorsement, but some of these candidates were also disqualified based on some of their public positions. Incumbents who scored below an 80 percent were automatically disqualified for endorsement or recommendation.
To reach its final list of endorsements and recommendations, included below, the RLCNH Board appointed an endorsements committee to propose candidates to endorse or recommend, and the RLCNH Board then made the final decision based on the committee’s proposal. The result of this process is 63 endorsed incumbents and 27 recommended incumbents. With the 21 first-time candidates endorsed by the RLCNH last month and the additional 63 incumbent endorsements released today, the RLCNH has now endorsed 84 candidates for the 2012 Republican Primary.
The RLCNH has received new candidate surveys from many first-time candidates and will release another round of endorsements and recommendations within the next several weeks. New candidates who have not yet filled out the survey are invited to do so by visiting www.rlcnh.org/survey. As the primary election approaches, the RLCNH will release a voter guide that will identify which candidates will best serve the people of New Hampshire for the next two years.
“We intend to vigorously campaign for our endorsed first-time legislators who commit to the principles that will ensure liberty and prosperity in New Hampshire,” McKinney said, “And we intend to vigorously campaign for our endorsed incumbents who have demonstrated leadership in the Legislature and actively worked to redirect the legislative agenda.”
RLCNH Second Round Candidate Endorsements
Endorsed Second Round State Senate Candidates
Phil Greazzo, Senate District 20 (Manchester Wards 3, 4, 10, 11 & Goffstown)
John Reagan, Senate District 17 (Merrimack County: Allenstown, Chichester, Epsom, Loudon, Pembroke, Pittsfield; Rockingham County: Deerfield, Northwood, Nottingham, Raymond; Strafford County: Strafford)
Endorsed Second Round State Representative Candidates
Kevin Avard, Hillsborough 28 (Nashua Ward 1)
Alfred Baldasaro, Rockingham 5 (Londonderry)
J. Michael Ball, Hillsborough 9 (Manchester Ward 2)
Spec Bowers, Sullivan 2 (Croydon, Sunapee)
John Burt, Hillsborough 6 (Goffstown)
Anne Cartwright, Cheshire 2 (Alstead, Marlow, Surry)
Jennifer Coffey, Merrimack 1 (Andover, Danbury, Salisbury)
Timothy Comerford, Rockingham 33 (Fremont, Brentwood, Danville)
Guy Comtois, Belknap 7 (Barnstead)
Gary Daniels, Hillsborough 40 (Hollis, Milford, Mont Vernon, New Boston)
Joshua Davenport, Rockingham 17 (Newfields, Newmarket)
Susan DeLemus, Strafford 11 (Rochester Ward 4)
J. Brandon Giuda, Merrimack 20 (Chichester, Pembroke)
Robert Greemore, Belknap 2 (Gilford, Meredith)
Warren Groen, Strafford 10 (Rochester Ward 3)
Gregory Hill, Merrimack 3 (Franklin Ward 3 & Northfield)
J.R. Hoell, Merrimack 23 (Bow, Dunbarton)
Thomas Howard, Sullivan 9 (Cornish, Croydon, Grantham, Newport, Plainfield, Springfield, Sunapee, Unity)
Paul Ingbretson, Grafton 15 (Bath, Benton, Easton, Haverhill, Landaff, Orford, Piermont, Warren)
Daniel Itse, Rockingham 10 (Fremont)
Laura Jones, Strafford 24 (Rochester Wards 4 & 5)
Robert Kingsbury, Belknap 3 (Laconia Wards 1-6)
Walter Kolodziej, Rockingham 7 (Windham)
Kenneth Kreis, Merrimack 9 (Canterbury, Loudon)
George Lambert, Hillsborough 44 (Litchfield, Manchester Wards 8 & 9)
Kirsten Larsen Schultz, Strafford 21 (Dover Wards 5 & 6, Rollinsford, Somersworth Wards 1-5)
Frederick Leonard, Strafford 22 (Rochester Wards 1 & 6)
Jonathan Maltz, Hillsborough 37 (Hudson, Pelham)
Bruce Marcus, Hillsborough 24 (Peterborough)
Carol McGuire, Merrimack 29 (Allenstown, Epsom, Pittsfield)
Dan McGuire, Merrimack 21 (Epsom, Pittsfield)
Holly Mecheski, Hillsborough 1 (Antrim, Hillsborough, Windsor)
Paul Mirski, Grafton 10 (Enfield)
Charles Moore, Cheshire 9 (Dublin, Harrisville, Jaffrey, Roxbury)
Keith Murphy, Hillsborough 7 (Bedford)
Clifford Newton, Strafford 23 (Rochester Wards 2 & 3)
Jeanine Notter, Hillsborough 21 (Merrimack)
House Speaker William O’Brien, Hillsborough 5 (Mont Vernon, New Boston)
William O’Connor, Strafford 4 (Barrington)
Stephen Palmer, Hillsborough 23 (Milford)
Lenette Peterson, Hillsborough 21 (Merrimack)
Joseph Pitre, Strafford 2 (Farmington)
Calvin Pratt, Hillsborough 6 (Goffstown)
Glenn Ritter, Rockingham 16 (East Kingston, Kensington, South Hampton)
Adam Schroadter, Rockingham 17 (Newfields, Newmarket)
G. Brian Seaworth, Merrimack 20 (Chichester, Pembroke)
Carl Seidel, Hillsborough 28 (Nashua Ward 1)
Tammy Simmons, Hillsborough 17 (Manchester Ward 10)
Steven Smith, Sullivan 11 (Acworth, Charlestown, Goshen, Langdon, Lempster, Washington)
Gregory Sorg, Grafton 3 (Bath, Benton, Easton, Landaff, Orford, Piermont, Warren)
Kathleen Souza, Hillsborough 43 (Manchester Wards 4, 5, 6 & 7)
Charles Sova, Grafton 16 (Canaan, Dorchester, Ellsworth, Groton, Orange, Rumney, Thornton, Wentworth)
James Summers, Hillsborough 32 (Nashua Ward 5)
Matthew Swank, Hillsborough 45 (Manchester Wards 10, 11 & 12)
Daniel Tamburello, Rockingham 5 (Londonderry)
Kyle Tasker, Rockingham 2 (Candia, Deerfield, Nottingham)
Norman Tregenza, Carroll 7 (Albany, Bartlett, Chatham, Conway, Eaton, Freedom, Hale’s Location, Hart’s Location, Jackson, Madison, Tamworth)
Stella Tremblay, Rockingham 4 (Auburn, Chester, Sandown)
Moe Villeneuve, Hillsborough 7 (Bedford)
Mark Warden, Hillsborough 39 (Deering, Goffstown, Weare)
Colette Worsman, Belknap 2 (Gilford, Meredith)
RLCNH Incumbent Recommendations
Recommended State Senate Candidates
Joseph Krasucki, Senate District 13 (Nashua Wards 3,4,6,7,8 & 9)
Andy Sanborn, Senate District 9 ((Cheshire County: Dublin, Fitzwilliam, Jaffrey, Richmond, Troy; Hillsborough County: Bedford, Greenfield, Hancock, Lyndeborough, Mont Vernon, New Boston, Peterborough, Sharon, Temple)
Recommended State Representative Candidates
Donald Andolina, Strafford 17 (Dover Wards 5 & 6, Somersworth Ward 2)
Michael Balboni, Hillsborough 29 (Nashua Ward 2)
Richard Barry, Hillsborough 21 (Merrimack)
Duffy Daugherty, Coos 1 (Atkinson, Gilmanton Academy Grant, Cambridge, Clarksville, Colebrook, Columbia, Dix’s Grant, Dixville, Errol, Erving’s Location, Millsfield, Odell, Pittsburg, Second College Gt., Stewartstown, Stratford, Wentworth’s Location)
Joe Duarte, Rockingham 2 (Candia, Deerfield, Nottingham)
Marilinda Garcia, Rockingham 8 (Salem)
Peter Hansen, Hillsborough 22 (Amherst)
John Hikel, Hillsborough 6 (Goffstown)
Kathleen Hoelzel, Rockingham 3 (Raymond)
Edith Hogan, Hillsborough 34 (Nashua Ward 7)
Paul LaCasse, Sullivan 10 (Claremont Wards 1-3)
Donna Mauro, Rockingham 7 (Windham)
Frank McCarthy, Carroll 2 (Chatham, Conway, Eaton, Hale’s Location)
Donald McClarren, Hillsborough 29 (Nashua Ward 2)
Sean McGuinness, Hillsborough 28 (Nashua Ward 1)
Jeffrey Oligny, Rockingham 34 (Atkinson, Hampstead, Kingston, Plaistow)
James Parison, Hillsborough 25 (New Ipswich, Sharon, Temple)
Laurence Rappaport, Coos 1 (Atkinson, Gilmanton Academy Grant, Cambridge, Clarksville, Colebrook, Columbia, Dix’s Grant, Dixville, Errol, Erving’s Location, Millsfield, Odell, Pittsburg, Second College Gt., Stewartstown, Stratford, Wentworth’s Location)
Kevin Reichard, Rockingham 6 (Derry)
Harold “Skip” Reilly, Grafton 9 (Alexandria, Ashland, Bridgewater, Bristol, Grafton)
Andrew Renzullo, Hillsborough 37 (Hudson, Pelham)
Laurie Sanborn, Hillsborough 41 (Amherst, Bedford)
William Smith, Rockingham 24 (New Castle, Rye)
Timothy Twombly, Hillsborough 34 (Nashua Ward 7)
Steven Winter, Merrimack 5 (New London, Newbury)
