Some good news for Senator Jeanne Shaheen's (D):
http://thehill.com/...
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) is at near career-high levels of popularity in her state, indicating she'll be in a good position for reelection in New Hampshire — but Republicans could see an opportunity in challenging Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D) in 2014.
Fifty-nine percent of New Hampshire adults survey for the WMUR Granite State Poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, view Shaheen favorably. That's an increase of three percentage points since October and just one percentage point below her career high, in July of 2007.
The poll will be a blow to Republicans in the state, who are hoping to field a challenger against Shaheen in 2014, when they believe they could have a chance without President Obama at the top of the ballot. - The Hill, 2/13/12
UNH polled 581 New Hampshire voters through both landline and cellular telephone interviews between January 30th and February 5th. The poll shows that Shaheen is the most popular politician in the state:
http://www.unh.edu/...
New Hampshire is the first state in the nation with a Congressional delegation consisting of all women. The senior member of the delegation, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen has long been one of the most popular politicians in New Hampshire. In the most recent Granite State Poll, 59% of New Hampshire adults say they have a favorable opinion of Shaheen, 22% have an unfavorable opinion of her, 9% are neutral and 11% don’t know enough about her to say. Shaheen’s net favorability rating is +37, up from +27% in October. Shaheen’s favorability ratings have improved in a bi-partisan fashion since October, she is viewed very favorably among Democrats (net favorability rating of +80%), favorably among Independents (+34%), but unfavorably among Republicans (-9%). - THE WMUR GRANITE STATE POLL THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE SURVEY CENTER, 2/13/13
Here's the graph of Shaheen's favorability and unfavorability ratings:
UNH's polling has showed consistently high approval numbers for Shaheen but their latest poll shows her at her most popular height:
The poll also shows Shaheen's colleague, Senator Kelly Ayotte (R. NH), with a 51% approval rating with 28% disapproving of her and 7% remaining neutral. 14% have no opinion about her. Congresswoman
Carol Shea Porter (D. NH-1) right now has pretty split approval numbers, 38/19 with 8% reaming neutral and 15% with no opinion. Congresswoman Ann Kuster (D. NH-2) has better approval ratings, 32/23 with 8% reaming neutral and 36% having no opinion.
Shaheen's support for marriage equality and gay rights have made her an LGBT champion and Shaheen made national headlines for her push for the Shaheen Amendment to expand abortion access to female soldiers in cases of rape and incest:
http://www.shaheen.senate.gov/...
(Washington, D.C.) – An amendment introduced by U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) to provide health care equity to women serving in the military was signed into law last night with President Barack Obama’s signature approving the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act. The Shaheen Amendment, which would provide servicewomen coverage for abortions if they are victims of rape or incest, was passed through both chambers of Congress last month with broad bipartisan support.
“After three decades of a policy that discriminated against women who put their lives on the line for us, I am so proud that we will finally begin to provide the coverage our servicewomen deserve,” Shaheen said. “Civilian women who depend on the federal government for health insurance – whether they are postal workers or Medicaid recipients – have the right to access affordable abortion care if they are sexually assaulted. It is only fair that the thousands of brave women in uniform fighting to protect our freedoms are treated the same. I am glad that colleagues in both Houses of Congress and of both parties could come together to right this wrong.” - shaheen.senate.gov, 1/3/13
Just recently, Shaheen was honored by the U.S. Navy:
http://www.newstimes.com/...
Shaheen, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was recognized Tuesday for her commitment to the Navy and Marine Corps.
She received the Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award.
Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, said Shaheen's willingness to chair last year's Senate Energy Committee's field hearing on board USS Kearsarge in Norfolk was just one of many examples of her vision and commitment. - News Times, 2/13/13
Shaheen also played a vital role in helping New Hampshire become the only state with an all female delegation:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Even if the legislature in New Hampshire is big, the state itself is small. That makes it easier for everyone to know everyone else, and most of the women in the Congressional delegation have intricate ties to one another.
Ms. Kuster’s mother, for example, a Republican state senator who ran for Congress in 1980, was a mentor to Ms. Shaheen. “She thought it was so important to elect women,” Ms. Shaheen said in an interview. “She was helpful to all women, not just me.”
“A lot of people in office, even their managers and staff, are Shaheen protégés or were brought up through the Shaheen organization,” said Neil Levesque, executive director of the Institute of Politics. - New York Times, 1/1/13
Shaheen has remained a strong voice in passing the Violence Against Women Act and has been always received high praise for her work to protect women's reproductive rights and making birth control affordable and more accessible. She has already received an endorsement from the NARAL and EMILY's List for her 2014 re-election campaign. The WMUR poll caused this local conservative pundit to freak out:
http://www.wmur.com/...
MANCHESTER, N.H. —Every day where Republicans don't have a candidate to run for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire, Democratic incumbent Jeanne Shaheen gets an even bigger head start.
As it currently stands, former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu is the best hope for Republicans, but no one expects he is headed for a third match-up against Shaheen. This leaves two former U.S. Reps -- Frank Guinta and Jeb Bradley -- giving a Senate run the most thought even though they have lost to Democrat U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter three times when you combine their losses. Further, neither Guinta nor Bradley have been particularly strong fundraisers.
If Republicans do want to win back the Senate seat once held by Sununu, Gordon Humphrey and Syles Bridges, they will need to go beyond the current field of candidates.
Let me offer up for the sake of argument: Honeywell CEO David Cote.
Cote returned to his native New Hampshire on Monday leading a conversation on the national debt, with a group he co-founded called Fix the Debt. While there was no indication that his appearance was for anything other than to talk about the nation's debt, his demeanor, his knowledge and his background give him a political resume that shouldn't just be looked over. - WMUR New Hampshire 9, 2/13/13
Who knows if Cote will actually enter the race but it's good to see Shaheen have the most popularity. Plus if someone like Cote does decide to run against her, Shaheen will have the backing of her fellow Senators to help her fundraise for her re-election:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Four Democratic senators who are up for reelection in 2014 have joined forces on fundraising.
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) created a joint fundraising committee last week called Senate Victory 2014, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Hagan is the most vulnerable senator in the group, and could face a tough reelection fight if a strong Republican challenger emerges, according to a recent poll.
Hagan is also the strongest fundraiser of the four, ending the last reporting period with more than $1.3 million in the bank. - The Hill, 1/28/13
2014 is a while away and anything can happen between now and then but I for one would like to keep an all female delegation in New Hampshire. Feel free to donate to Shaheen's campaign here:
https://secure.actblue.com/...