Former GOP gubernatorial nominee Ovide Lamontagne is filing today to run for Senate in New Hampshire, adding to an already crowded GOP primary in the Granite State.

"I believe that I can build a coalition that not only can win in the primary but in the general election," Lamontagne said in a Monday phone interview.

Lamontagne has been exploring a bid for the last couple months, headlining events in both Washington, D.C. and New Hampshire.

EMILY's List is endorsing attorney Ann McLane Kuster in race for an open House seat in New Hampshire.

The race in the 2nd District, where Democrat Paul Hodes is retiring, is expected to be competitive, especially now that former Rep. Charlie Bass, a Republican, is exploring a bid for his former seat.

Kuster, a Democrat, announced her campaign for the seat in June, and raised $343,000 through the end of September.

Former Republican Rep. Charlie Bass has initiated a preliminary bid to reclaim the New Hampshire seat he held for a dozen years but lost in the 2006 election.

Bass' formation of a 2010 "exploratory" committee -- which usually is the precursor to a full-scale campaign -- will gratify national Republican Party recruiters who are trying to capture some Democratic-held seats and cut into the rival party's House majority in the upcoming midterm elections.

Bass announced his committee's launch Wednesday that in New Hampshire's 2nd District, which includes Nashua and the state capital of Concord. Bass, a center-right Republican, represented the district from 1995 through his defeat by Democrat Paul W. Hodes in the strongly Democratic year of 2006. Hodes has left the House seat open for 2010 in order to bid for the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Republican Judd Gregg.

Businessman Sean Mahoney, a national committeeman for the RNC, confirmed Monday in an interview with UnionLeader.com that he is actively exploring a bid to represent New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate.

Mahoney's potential candidacy is the latest possible complication for former New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, who has been boosted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the U.S. Senate, though the committee has stopped short of an official endorsement. Ayotte is officially in the exploratory stage. Republican Ovide Lamontagne, an attorney who ran for governor in 1996, is also exploring a U.S. Senate candidacy.

The party is fighting to hold the seat currently represented by Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, who is retiring.

Former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu, the current Republican state party chairman, told the Portsmouth Herald during an editorial board meeting earlier this week that his son, former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, will soon decide whether to enter the 2010 Senate race.

And the elder Sununu, a former governor, added that he expects the GOP field to clear for his progeny.

"I will use my warmth and my charm to make sure that if it is a primary, there is a constructive primary or if a primary can be avoided, I will do that," Sununu said. When asked if he would prefer to avoid a primary between his son and Republican state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, he responded: "I think if my son runs, there will not be a primary."

Democrat Ann McLane Kuster, a lawyer and lobbyist, has announced her candidacy for New Hampshire's 2nd District race, positioning herself as a Washington outsider.

"I'm an activist, not a career politician. I think great ideas start right here in New Hampshire, not in Washington," Kuster said in her video announcement. Her announcement made her the first major Democrat to enter the race to succeed Democratic Rep. Paul W. Hodes, who is running for the Senate in 2010.

Kuster emphasized her commitment to make quality healthcare afforable, protect abortion rights, and increase New Hampshire's involvement in the alternative energy industry.