Guinta: New Hampshire Federal Delegation 'Should Have Done Far More' To Save FITN Primary

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Former U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta says New Hampshire’s all-Democratic federal delegation failed to use its political leverage to protect the state’s First-in-the-Nation presidential primary.

And the former Republican congressman says Friday’s humiliating defeat at the Democratic National Committee illustrates his point.

“I share your frustration and your anger that our delegation didn’t do more,” Guinta told the NHJournal podcast.

“The Senate has extreme power that the House of Representatives doesn’t have,” Guinta said, pointing to senators’ ability to delay legislation and nominations. “Our delegation should have done far more to preserve and protect the First-in-the-Nation primary.”

Instead, the DNC committee voted Friday to place South Carolina first on its tentative 2028 calendar, once again stripping New Hampshire Democrats of their traditional spot.

Listen here: nhjournal.com/guinta-the-nh-delegation-should-have-done-more-to-save-fitn-primary/

As NHJournal reported, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley’s effort to restore the FITN primary received just four votes from the 49-member committee. Two came from New Hampshire members.

South Carolina received 26 votes, followed by Nevada with 19.

The proposed calendar must still be ratified by the full DNC next month. Secretary of State David Scanlan and Gov. Kelly Ayotte say New Hampshire will follow state law and hold its primary at least seven days before any similar contest.

Guinta said the primary is important not just to New Hampshire, but to small states across the country.

“Don’t tell me that a presidential candidate is going to campaign the same way in California, Texas, and Florida that they do in Iowa and New Hampshire,” Guinta said. “In our country, in our democracy, in our republic, you want to be able to speak to your candidates, and you can only do that the way New Hampshire allows it.”

Guinta said New Hampshire’s U.S. senators could have used Senate rules — including their ability to delay nominations and legislation — to pressure the Biden administration and national Democrats when the DNC first pushed the Granite State out of the lead position in the 2024 calendar.

“When senators from any state feel it’s important and critical enough, they can hold up legislation,” Guinta said. “Our delegation should have done far more.”

The state’s federal delegation — U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan and U.S. Reps. Chris Pappas and Maggie Goodlander — was largely silent during the weeks leading up to Friday’s vote. It released a statement after the defeat calling the DNC’s decision “wrong for Democrats, wrong for New Hampshire and wrong for the country.”

Guinta’s criticism comes as Pappas, the Democratic frontrunner in the race for Shaheen’s open U.S. Senate seat, faces Republican attacks over the delegation’s loss of influence within the national party.

Guinta remains the last Republican to win a federal election in New Hampshire, defeating Democratic U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter in 2014. No Republican has carried the district since.

Guinta believes the GOP can break that losing streak, but only if it nominates candidates with experience, policy knowledge, and an ability to earn the trust of voters outside the Republican base.

“All seats require quality candidates,” Guinta said. “You cannot underestimate the importance of a quality candidate.”

The Republican NH-01 field includes Trump-endorsed businessman Anthony DiLorenzo, business owner Hollie Noveletsky, and former Hampton Selectman Brian Cole.

Guinta said he has spoken with all the candidates and believes Republicans have “a good crop” running in the district.

But he also argued the state GOP must do more to cultivate potential candidates through municipal and state offices before asking voters to send them to Washington.

“We need to, as a party in New Hampshire, continue to focus on cultivating candidates at all levels, not just at the federal level,” Guinta said. “I’m talking not just state representative and state senator. We need to cultivate at the extreme local level to see who bubbles up to the top as quality candidates.”

Guinta agreed that national political trends have made it more difficult for Republicans to win federal races in New England, even as Granite State voters continue to elect Republican governors and GOP legislative majorities.

“I think the issues have been very nationalized,” Guinta said. “There are unique issues at a federal level that only affect New Hampshire that we need to accentuate and talk more about.”

Among them are the Port of New Hampshire, home heating assistance, transportation, forestry, agriculture and the differing needs of the state’s northern and southern regions, he said.

Guinta also believes affordability should be at the center of the Republican message, particularly the cost of heating oil, gasoline, food, and housing.

“When I think of affordability in New Hampshire, I think of home heating oil because most of us do have home heating oil, myself included; gas prices because most of us have to travel to go to work; food prices because we want to feed our family; and then, what is the capability or ability for myself to make more money in the position that I have?” Guinta said.

“These four things to me are critical.”

And how should Republican congressional candidates handle questions about President Donald Trump, particularly after Trump intervened in the NH-01 primary by endorsing DiLorenzo?

Guinta’s advice is to be candid with voters.

“First of all, be honest. You need to know where you stand, and you need to stick with that,” Guinta said. “People get a sense pretty quickly if you’re trying to fake it. They really do. We have smart voters in New Hampshire.”

Candidates should not be afraid to disagree with Trump when New Hampshire’s interests are involved, Guinta said, but they should do it respectfully.

“There is a way to communicate with the president and not get on his bad side,” Guinta said. “You can be respectful of the president. You can have different views than the president.

“When I have talked to President Trump, he respects that. He wants to have a dialogue with you, but you can’t be fearful of that.”

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.