NH-1

Several New Hampshire political analysts have offered their predictions for Election Day.

All the analysts cited say the Democrats are poised to win the congressional races in New Hampshire and will keep control of the State House.

Andy Smith, director of the UNH Survey Center, is predicting that the Democratic federal candidates will win in New Hampshire.
 
"Barack Obama looks to win New Hampshire by a comfortable margin on Tuesday. In the race for U.S. Senate, Shaheen should win a narrow victory over incumbent John Sununu," Smith writes in his latest poll. "In Congressional races, incumbent Paul Hodes is predicted to win New Hampshire's 2nd District and incumbent Carol Shea-Porter looks to pull out a narrow victory in the 1st District."

The daily UNH/WMUR tracking poll shows the races in New Hampshire narrowing, but still outside the reach of Republicans.

In the presidential contest John McCain has narrowed Barack Obama's lead to 11 points. McCain made up ground all week among Republicans. The poll finds that 88 percent of Republicans now support McCain, up from 74 percent earlier this week. That said, Obama has 53 percent of independents supporting his campaign.

Below are the latest results from UNH/WMUR tracking poll, which shows narrowing races in the U.S. Senate race and the 1st Congressional District race.

PolitickerNH.com

NRCC mailer

The New Hampshire Democratic Party (NHDP) is criticizing a recent mailer sponsored by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).

The mailer says that "Carol Shea-Porter voted to allow criminals to buy homes in our neighborhood," and cited a vote they say allows drug dealers to buy homes with taxpayer money. The mailer also shows a large picture of a hand about the pull the trigger of a gun.

To counter the mailer, the NHDP held a press conference with Tom Katsiantonis, a voter in Manchester, who said the mail "crossed the line."

PolitickerNH.com

Doug Kruse, Jeb Bradley and Mitt Romney

MANCHESTER-- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigned at a local business for various Republican candidates.

The Republican presidential primary runner-up talked to workers at Oven Poppers about the importance of electing Doug Kruse (R-Manchester) to the state senate and former U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) to the U.S. House.

A new poll has the major Democratic candidates leading their Republican opponents in New Hampshire.

A Boston Globe poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire's Survey Center, has former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D-Madbury) beating U.S. Sen. John Sununu (R-Waterville Valley) 49 percent to 36 percent. In the 1st Congressional District U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-Rochester) is leading former U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) 44 percent to 39 percent while in the 2nd Congressional District U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes (D-Concord) is leading Jennifer Horn (R-Nashua) 51 percent to 25 percent.

U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter's campaign blogger has resigned because of comments about Gov. Sarah Palin's youngest child which she made as a PolitickerNH.com user.

The comments also became the focus of a press release issued by the New Hampshire Republican Party.

Campaign officials from both candidates in the 1st Congressional District said their candidate did a "fantastic job."

Former U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) and U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-Rochester) participated in their first debate earlier today.

During his trip to New Hampshire, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean will participate in a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter.

The fundraiser is set to take place on October 13 in Manchester at the home of Bill and Kathy Gillett. Earlier in the day Dean will visit Keene State College to encourage college students to register to vote.