Race Summary

Former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen is challenging Sen. John Sununu in a rematch of their 2002 open seat contest. Sununu's route to the Senate six years ago was no easy one. He took down incumbent Sen. Bob Smith in the GOP primary (though Smith was unpopular), then defeated Shaheen, who was finishing up her third term as governor. At 38 years old, Sununu became the youngest member of the Senate, a title he still holds.

The two now meet again under rather different circumstances. In 2006 both GOP congressmen were knocked out by Democrats, a Democrat held on to the governorship with 76% of the vote, and Dems won the majority in both the state House and Senate. Democrats hadn't controlled the House in almost 100 years and hadn't controlled both the executive and legislative branches since the 1800s. New Hampshire was also the only state to vote against Bush in 2004 after voting for him in 2000.

Sununu has been criticized by both liberals and conservatives for some of his legislative votes. With the tide  appearing to still flow against Republicans here -- especially those who aren't terribly popular --Sununu will have a serious struggle to hold on to this seat that national Democrats are hanging a bull's eye on.

Previous Elections

Senate
2002: Sununu 51, Shaheen 47
1996: Smith 49, Swett 46 

President
2004: Kerry 50, Bush 49
2000: Bush 48, Gore 47
1996: Clinton 49, Dole 39

Demographics