Hodes Reports Fundraising Headstart for New Hampshire Senate Bid

By Rachel Kapochunas | April 20, 2009 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Paul Hodes (Getty)

Democratic Rep. Paul W. Hodes is off to a $250,000 headstart on his potential competition for New Hampshire Senate, according to a quarterly report filed by the two-term lawmaker.

Hodes was the first major candidate to declare his intention to run for the seat held by Republican Sen. Judd Gregg and he has yet to draw major competition from either party.

His disclosure report shows that Hodes transferred $39,000 that had been donated to his House campaigns to seed his Senate account. His new campaign had $254,000 in the bank as of Mar. 31.

President Obama tapped Gregg to serve as Secretary of Commerce, but Gregg withdrew his nomination in February and announced he would not be a candidate for re-election.

The name of Republican former Sen. John E. Sununu is frequently mentioned as a top GOP challenger to Hodes. Sununu last fall lost re-election to Democrat Jeanne Shaheen. An American Research Group poll conducted Mar. 27-30 found Hodes leading Sununu 42 percent to 36 percent.

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