Potential 2016 Candidates Head to New Hampshire

Former Gov. Jim Gilmore, R-VA, and current Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-LA, will be making appearances around the state this week at Republican events just before the Sept. 9, primary.

Gilmore, who is now president of American Opportunity, an org that describes itself as “a center-right policy initiative offering positive, constructive, actionable solutions in free-market economics, national security and foreign policy,” will be speaking at the Dover Elks Lodge at the Strafford County Republican Barbecue at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6. At 3 p.m., he heads over the Seacoast Federation of Republican Women Chili-Fest at the Scamman Farm in Stratham. He’ll also be speaking at 6 p.m. at the Hillsborough County Republican Pre-Primary Gala at the Crowne Plaza in Nashua.

“I’m looking forward to enjoying a day of fellowship with new friends, activists and supporters,” Gilmore said. “I’m confident that the NHGOP has laid a strong foundation in preparation for this fall’s elections and look forward to helping turn New Hampshire red this November.”

Gilmore was last in the state in March when he spoke at the Northeast Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua. In 2006, he toyed with the idea of running for president in 2008, but ultimately abandoned the idea.

Jindal will also be in New Hampshire for the pre-primary gala, according to organizers, who say it’s great that he is coming to the state to be the keynote speaker of the event.

“We are especially fortunate to hear from one of the excellent Republican Governors working to expand job opportunity, cut spending and taxes, raise educational standards, improve the private business environment and bring solutions to the challenges facing their states,” said Hillsborough County Republican Committee Chairman Ray Chadwick.

About Gilmore, Chadwick added, “Jim Gilmore is an articulate advocate for bringing conservative solutions to our nation’s problems.”

On the Democratic side, Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with shipyard workers at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Wednesday in Kittery, Maine, where he will tour the facility and speak about excellence standards, according to Seacoastonline.com.