Tea Party Activist Takes Over New Hampshire Republicans (Good News for Sarah Palin)
DERRY, N.H. — A rancorous fight to lead the New Hampshire Republican Party through next year’s presidential race ended Saturday with an upset victory by a conservative activist backed by members of the Tea Party and other grassroots groups.
Jack Kimball, a relative newcomer to party politics who ran for governor last year as a fiscal and social conservative, beat Juliana Bergeron, who leads the Cheshire County Republicans and was backed by former Gov. John Sununu, the outgoing state party chairman.
The race was closely watched as a sign of how much influence Tea Party groups will exert here in the lead-up to New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary, tentatively scheduled for Feb. 14, 2012.
Mr. Sununu said Ms. Bergeron was a proven leader and fundraiser who could unite all of the party’s factions. In a strongly worded speech before the vote, Mr. Sununu said he was worried about divisions within the party and warned that its leaders must not alienate more moderate members and independents, who make up about 40 percent of the state’s voters.
“We don’t want to be seen as a party that’s a sliver of a party,” he said. “We want to be seen as a party that welcomes all views.”
Mr. Sununu, who orchestrated the huge Republican sweep here last fall, also exhorted the committee members not to alienate any Republican presidential candidates leading into the 2012 primary, saying it was imperative for New Hampshire to provide a “comfortable environment” for all.
“The worst thing for the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation primary,” he said, “is for people to feel this is not a place they want to participate.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com
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