Jeanne Shaheen Gets Vengeance in NH

Earlier today, we told you about the epic rematch brewing in the New Hampshire Senate race. Well, it looks like we can close the books on this one.

MSNBC is calling the race for Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, who appears to have unseated Sen. John Sununu. This brings full circle Shaheen's quest to avenge her loss for the seat in the 2002 election, which was plagued by phone-jamming scandals that sent some Sununu supporters to jail.

Shaheen can now finally head to Washington, and Sununu can head … to Washington.

Did you really think he was going to go back to New Hampshire? It's a hellhole!

Granite State Show-Down

The voters of New Hampshire have gotten a lot of press for their involvement in the presidential campaign this year. Their primary votes gave life to the John McCain and Hillary Clinton campaigns, and in the wee hours of this morning they gave a preliminary body-slam to McCain's general election hopes.

But the Granite State is a perpetual battleground for Congress as well! It wouldn't be a proper election day unless grumpy New Hampshirites dripped some of their nose icicles onto the makeup of the legislative branch.

In the Senate race, it's a rematch between 2002 rivals John Sununu (now the incumbent Republican senator) and Jeanne Shaheen (the former Democratic governor). Polls show Shaheen with a comfortable lead of 9%, mainly due to her shrewd decision to remain entirely silent during debates. Meanwhile, George W. Bush was willing to go to New Hampshire to campaign for the Republican, but the Secret Service vetoed that idea out of fear that Sununu might assault the president, in keeping with his strident Bush-bashing of late.

The big House race is in the state's 1st Congressional District, featuring a rematch between incumbent Democrat Carol Shea-Porter and the man she defeated in 2006, former Rep. Jeb Bradley. Shea-Porter is ahead by 5% in a recent poll, but Bradley has reignited his hopes by vowing that if elected he will allow his wife to be kidnapped, in the proud tradition of New Hampshire Republicans.

Polls in New Hampshire close in less than five hours!

Tags: Carol Shea-Porter, Election Day, House of Representatives, Jeanne Shaheen, John McCain, John Sununu, New Hampshire, Senate

Epic Senate Rematch in Exciting New Hampshire!

Talk about a summer blockbuster! In the spirit of Alien vs. Predator II, the U.S. Senate race in New Hampshire is gearing up to be a rematch of epic proportions.

In one corner: incumbent Republican Sen. John Sununu, who first arrived on the political scene after messily bursting out of his father's chest during a George H. W. Bush cabinet meeting in 1991.

And in the other: former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat who has survived multiple gunshot wounds and a tank attack with little discomfort, although she did stain some carpets with her dark green blood.

Sununu and Shaheen last faced off in the 2002 Senate election, when the Republican won by very narrow 4% margin…

Polls showed the two New Hampshire political heavyweights neck and neck until Election Day. But in the end, Mr. Sununu appeared to pull out a decisive victory. With 96 percent of the precincts reporting, Mr. Sununu had 51 percent of the vote while Ms. Shaheen had 47 percent. At 10:30 p.m., Ms. Shaheen conceded the election.

As of today, Shaheen is leading in the polls and is favored to win in this increasingly Democratic state.

Although the sharp Republican downturn in the state boosted Shaheen to big leads in polls into the summer, Democratic officials approach the race with only cautious optimism — in part because the senator’s name is big in state politics.

"This time around, the mood is much more anti-Republican in New Hampshire, so [Sununu’s] going to have an extremely difficult time," said [Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire’s Survey Center.].

Meanwhile, on the House side of the Granite State, another exciting rematch is shaping up between Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) and the man she defeated in 2008, former Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-NH). We'll be sure to keep you posted on this one, as it's increasingly resembling Bad News Bears II: Breaking Training!