Former N.H. Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, a Republican candidate for New Hampshire's Senate seat, visited the College on Thursday and spoke with several students, including members of the College Republicans. Ayotte and businessman Bill Binnie, who is also running as a Republican, both lead Democratic candidate Rep. Paul Hodes '72 in polls by significant margins, predicting a difficult contest in the Sept. 14 Republican primary, according to Rasmussen Reports.
At the College, Ayotte discussed the importance of curbing federal spending and referred to the health care bill signed into law last week as "a violation of states' rights," according to Will Hix '12, who attended the meeting.
"With the amount of money we are spending in Washington and the debt we are accumulating, we are passing it on to them and they care what is happening to their country and we saw it here today with the Dartmouth College Republicans," Ayotte said, WCAX reported.
At the end of her visit, Ayotte passed out volunteer cards, Hix said. He said her visit to Dartmouth might improve her chances in the election.
"I think she is doing service to the Republicans here at Dartmouth," Hix said. "I think she was also trying to recruit volunteers to help her campaign."
The general election for New Hampshire's Senate seat will be held on Nov. 2. Hodes is one of two current U.S. House members from the state and has no major challengers for the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat.
Ayotte led Hodes 47 percent to 37 percent in a one-on-one matchup poll, conducted by Rasmussen Reports on March 10. Twelve percent of people polled remained undecided between the two candidates. Ayotte's lead over Hodes has remained relatively stable since last September, according to Rasmussen Reports.
Bill Binnie, a businessman involved in television advertising, led Hodes 46 percent to 36 percent in a similar poll. Fourteen percent of those polled were undecided between Hodes and Binnie. Binnie has experienced a large increase in support since he announced his candidacy in November, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports.
In the first quarter of 2010, Binnie raised more than $400,000 in contributions, according to WMUR.com. Binnie raised over $255,000 in contributions in the final quarter of the 2009 and loaned his campaign over $1 million, WMUR reported.
"His fiscally conservative, common-sense message is catching on with New Hampshire voters," Bryan Lanza, Binnie's campaign manager, said in a news release. "People want a businessman who knows how to create jobs in the U.S. Senate."
Two additional candidates, attorney Ovide Lamontagne and businessman Jim Bender, are also seeking the Republican nomination for the New Hampshire Senate seat. Bender has raised $100,000 in addition to a personal loan of $400,000 for his campaign. Lamontage has not announced his totals as of Thursday, according to Talking Points Memo. The former campaign manager for Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., who recently helped Brown win Massachusetts' Senate seat, has joined Bender's campaign, according to WCAX.
