Race for Shea-Porter seat narrows

Mark Hounsell drops out for lack of campaign funds

By THOMAS P. CALDWELL, LACONIA DAILY SUN

CONWAY — Mark Hounsell, a former state senator and Republican from the Lakes Region who was seeking the 1st Congressional District seat currently held by Carol Shea-Porter, has ended his three-month campaign, citing a lack of monetary support.

Democrat Maura Sullivan leads in fundraising for the race with $435,383 as of Dec. 31, according to the Federal Election Commission, while Republican Eddie Edwards had $231,497. There was no listing at the FEC website for Hounsell’s total.

Now serving as a Carroll County commissioner and a member of the Conway School Board, Hounsell admitted from the start that financing the campaign would be challenge. Using a hunting analogy, he said, “In my case, the bullet is money, and right now, I don’t have a bullet.”

In announcing his withdrawal from the race yesterday, Hounsell said, “I stated that I would run my campaign as long as I was a viable candidate, and that included having a campaign that is financially viable as well. I am no longer a viable candidate in that I am not financially viable.”

He continued, “I could be [viable] if I was willing to do what is required in this day and age to run as a candidate for the United States Congress, that being to raise money from partisan sources and special interests who expect things in return. I am not willing to raise money that way.”

He said he had no resentment toward those who encouraged him to run but did not contribute financially, but that it was a disappointment.

“At the very least, we have moved the discussion a little bit away from the unseemly quest for campaign money to the very issues that people care about,” he said. “Hopefully, in a meaningful way, we have served notice that we expect the campaign for the first congressional seat to be issue-driven.”

Hounsell said in a telephone interview that he was relieved to be out of the race, and that he had not thought about what role he might play going forward.

“I don’t feel the need to make a decision right now,” he said, but indicated he would probably “be an observer and occasional commentator.”

He has plenty to do as a county commissioner and school board member, he said.

Hounsell did say that those pushing a liberal agenda are making “blatant and unabashed attempts to buy New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District with out-of-state money,” while the state’s Republican party “is hog-tied by right-wing extremists passing as conservatives.”

He said, “As a result, many unaffiliated independent moderate voters have no reason to feel needed or welcomed to vote Republican this November. ... There is currently no candidate for Congress who emulates our successful Gov. Sununu in his genuine moderation from his honest conservative character. That is a real problem for the GOP.”

Without the right Republican candidate, he continued, “it is probable that both the New Hampshire House [and] the New Hampshire Senate will not have a Republican majority in January of 2019.”

GOP Chairman Jeanie Forrester of Meredith said she disagreed with Hounsell’s assessment of the party as being controlled by extremists, but that she was disappointed at his decision to withdraw from the race.

“But I totally understand. Financial resources are a critical part of a campaign, and if you can’t raise the money — I can speak from experience, from my run for governor. I could see that the money I raised was not going to get me where I needed to be. He understood that.”

She said she sent him an email, thanking him for getting into the race. “It’s always good to have a choice,” she said.

As to the Republican party, Forrester said, “We’re a big tent, and we agree on the core issues, and if we focus on those core issues, I think we’ll be successful. I think I have a better feeling for that than Mark does, as party chairman.

“There are people who have very strong feelings on particular issues, and sometimes a small group can have a very loud voice, and we have to respect that and listen to them,” she said. “But I think we have to focus on the core issues of lower taxes, liberty, freedom, and personal responsibility.”

Regarding the independent vote, Forrester said that, during her time in the state Senate, she had support from independents and even some Democrats, who value common sense and not being reactionary.

“I think there are a lot of people fed up with the extremes one way or another, and want someone with common sense,” she said.

Hounsell disagreed with the “big tent” analogy.

“The people who are in that big tent are doing all they can to change it from a big tent to a pup tent,” he said, naming Bill O’Brien and Americans for Prosperity. “If you don’t pass their so-called purity test, you’re not really part of it. I don’t fit their definition of what a conservative is; that is, neo-con, Tea Party. The purity test they insist on leaves no room for moderates or people willing to consider compromising on certain points and certain issues, who are willing to meet in the middle for discussions rather standing at opposite sides yelling at each other. The divisiveness of American politics, maintaining barriers that enable people to stay in power, is rigid and unsustainable. Something’s going to snap.”

Yet he said, “I’m rooting for Jeanie Forrester and her plan. I felt very welcomed by Jeanie Forrester and Chris Sununu and Wayne MacDonald.”

Hounsell said, “For the past three months, I gave this effort my best shot. The bottom line is I am not willing to do what is expected to raise the money to be competitive, and the people who support me are not doing so with sufficient contributions. The reality of the situation regarding me going to Washington, D.C., to represent the people of my home state in the House of Representatives is best expressed this way: ‘I can’t get there from here.’”

The filing deadline for the election is June 15, and the primary is set for Sept. 11.

Those running on the Republican side include Eddie Edwards, Andy Martin and Andy Sanborn. The Democratic field includes Maura Sullivan, Chris Pappas, Levi Sanders, Lincoln Soldati, Terence O’Rourke, Mindi Messmer, Deaglan McEachern and Mark Mackenzie.

Dylan Robinson is running as a Libertarian and the field also includes independent Shawn O’Connor.