A former New Hampshire legislator who lost in a crowded Republican primary last year is lining up support — and trying to build name recognition — in another bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H.
Former New Hampshire House Majority Leader Jack Flanagan, a Republican from Brookline, last week released the names of 21 lawmakers who are backing his candidacy in the Second Congressional District, which includes the New Hampshire towns in the Upper Valley.
The 59-year-old Flanagan won just 12,046 votes in a seven-way primary last September, losing the GOP nomination to former state Rep. Jim Lawrence, a Hudson Republican who had run for Congress in 2014 and got 17,180 votes in the 2016 primary.
Lawrence, who was running in part on his experience as a small businessman, lost fairly narrowly to Kuster, 49.7 percent to 45.4 percent, despite news reports that he hadn’t paid taxes on his Hudson home since 2013.
Flanagan, who formally announced his 2018 candidacy in June, said on Wednesday that New Hampshire voters were “on overload” last year, with the heavy attention focused on Donald Trump and the presidential primary, the high-profile U.S. Senate race between Maggie Hassan and Kelly Ayotte, and an open governor’s seat won by Republican Chris Sununu.
“Mr. Lawrence had run before, so he probably had some name recognition,” Flanagan said. “I’m starting a little earlier and trying to raise some money to rectify that problem.”
Among Flanagan’s supporters are state Rep. Rick Ladd, R-Haverhill, chairman of the House Education Committee; veteran Republican Reps. Neal Kurk and Ken Weyler; and Newport-area state Sen. Ruth Ward, R-Stoddard.
Flanagan’s chief complaint against Kuster, who has been a visible presence in the district on such issues as the opiate crisis, agriculture and sexual violence, is that she hasn’t passed much legislation.
“When you are in a body that has 400-plus members, you have to be bipartisan, and she’s not,” he asserted. “I got things done.”
Flanagan said as majority leader, he had helped flip results on the House floor, getting the larger body to pass some legislation that a committee had deemed inexpedient to legislate, or to kill some bills, such as one related to high-interest payday loans, that had committee backing.
Flanagan’s prior government experience includes serving as a Brookline selectman, vice chairman of the Hollis/Brookline Cooperative School Committee, chairman of the Brookline School District and chairman of the Brookline Finance Committee.
Ladd on Wednesday evening said Flanagan was knowledgeable about legislation he was backing and also attentive to what members of the public wanted in the bill.
“He didn’t come in with a dogmatic-type approach saying, ‘This is the way we are going to do it,’ ” Ladd said. “He came in with the ability to find that ground that would get passage through the House.”
On national issues, Flanagan supported Medicaid expansion in New Hampshire and rewriting the Affordable Care Act to “make it more affordable so people can get coverage.” He backed Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the 2016 New Hampshire presidential primary but ultimately voted for Trump last November, saying, “He was the second-worst candidate.”
Flanagan credits Trump for appointing Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court, his focus on a “controlled immigration and Customs process” to curb terrorism in the United States, and his work to cut business regulation.
“But I’m not too crazy about his tweets,” Flanagan said.
Lawrence could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, but his social media accounts appear to be keeping his options open for another run. Other possible GOP candidates include state Rep. Steve Negron, R-Nashua, and former state Rep. Lynne Blankenbeker, R-Concord.
Talking About a Carbon Tax
Two progressive Vermont groups are sponsoring a forum tonight at the Montshire Museum in a bid to focus on climate change and line up support for a carbon tax or a related measure.
The Vermont Natural Resources Council and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility are hosting the “Everyone’s Economic Opportunity in Climate Action” forum, the first of six to be held across the state in the coming weeks. Panelists at the forum, which is free and starts at 6, include state Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas, D-Bradford, and Mark Curran, a founder of Black River Produce.
Daniel Barlow, VBSR’s public policy manager, said 17,000 Vermonters already work in the clean energy industry, but the state spends about $2 billion on fossil fuels, with most of that money going out of state.
“We do believe if Vermont can figure out a way to properly put a price on carbon consumption and use that money to cut taxes, especially for low and middle-income Vermonters … we can invest in our energy future and keep some of the money locally,” Barlow said.
It should be noted that Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican who won an open seat last year, campaigned effectively against a carbon tax in 2016.
John P. Gregg can be reached at jgregg@vnews.com.