Ann McLane Kuster
New Hampshire's two House seats are a crucial part of the road back to Speaker Pelosi—and a new poll from Public Policy Polling and Democracy for America shows Democrats leading. In other words: we're winning. We're winning in the first district, where former Rep. Carol Shea-Porter is leading Republican Rep. Frank Guinta by four points, and we're winning in the second district, where Annie Kuster is also leading Republican Rep. Charlie Bass by four points. And the same poll finds President Obama leading Mitt Romney by six points.
Public Policy Polling for Democracy for America. 8/7-8. Likely voters. MoE ±3.6% for NH-01 and ±3.4 for NH-02. (5/10-13 in parentheses, using New Hampshire voters)
Carol Shea-Porter (D) 48 (47)
Frank Guinta (R-Inc) 44 (43)
Annie Kuster 47 (42)
Charlie Bass (R-Inc) 43 (42)
Even with PPP's move to likely voters, Shea-Porter's lead is unchanged from May, while Kuster has moved from a tie into the lead. Both Guinta and Bass are five points underwater on their favorables, Guinta coming in at 38/43 and Bass at 39/44.
A four-point lead doesn't mean game over, of course, especially in the post-Citizens United era. Shea-Porter and Kuster can both expect to be targeted by Republican outside money groups like Crossroads GPS or Americans for Prosperity, especially because these seats, which Democrats won in 2006 and Republicans regained in 2010, are such an important part of gaining or losing control of the House. That's one more reason why Kuster and Shea-Porter need us to have their backs. And if we're not only going to put the speaker's gavel back in Nancy Pelosi's hand but pass good legislation, we need strong progressives like them.
Please, give $3 to send Annie Kuster and Carol Shea-Porter to Congress.
2:56 PM PT: Speaking of momentum, the DCCC has released a Grove Insight poll in NH-01 showing Shea-Porter leading Guinta by six points, 45-39. David Nir points out that "If [Guinta] has any internal polling of his own that tells a different story, it's well past time to cough it up."