#nhla

As the 2014 campaign heats up, Democrats are highlighting the association between Republican candidates and the Free State Project, the controversial group attempting to persuade 20,000 libertarians to move to New Hampshire en masse.

A searing letter to the editor in today's Hampton Union from the chairman of the Hampton Democratic Committee accused Free Staters of teaming up with former House Speaker Bill O'Brien and "trying to destroy our government." A vote for a Republican state representative candidate, warned Dick Desrosiers, is a vote for Bill O’Brien and a Free Stater agenda.

State Senate candidate Lee Nyquist, who is challenging incumbent Andy Sanborn in District 9, recently sent out a mailer linking his opponent to the Free State Project and chairman Aaron Day. The piece highlighted votes by Sanborn that Nyquist claims would have weakened the state's public schools.

Day, who also leads the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire and the Stark360 super PAC, has raised the political profile of the group with his outspoken support for Republican "pro-liberty" candidates.

And some Republicans, including former state party chair Fergus Cullen, have publicly acknowledged the toxicity of that Free Stater connection. “I just don't think, in a competitive district, an informed electorate is going to elect someone running on a Free State platform," Cullen told the Concord Monitor.

Sanborn, the target of Nyquist's mailer, is a New Hampshire native who describes himself as a "liberty candidate." He was the New Hampshire co-chair for Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign and has been endorsed by the RLCNH and the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance.

Nevertheless, the Bedford Republican's pro-liberty credentials were called into question earlier this year when reports surfaced that he had threatened a constituent who sought his support for legalizing marijuana. Hilary Sargent had the story:

New Hampshire State Senator Andy Sanborn (R-Bedford) doesn’t want to legalize pot. And if you e-mail him suggesting he consider it, he just might threaten you.

Or that’s what happened to one constituent when he sent Sanborn a polite and thoughtful e-mail detailing the reasons the senator might consider supporting marijuana legalization. [...]

Upon receiving the e-mail, the senator, who touts his beliefs in “personal freedom” and “personal liberty” in campaign videos, appeared to have figured out that the sender was a college freshman and the recent recipient of a scholarship.

Image: freestateproject.org / CC BY 3.0

In its 2014 candidate questionnaire, the New Hampshire chapter of the American Federation of Teachers asked, "Are you a member of the Free State Project or NH Liberty Alliance?"

State House candidate Amanda Bouldin posted a copy of the questionnaire on the NHLA Facebook page. The audience there was not amused.

"Are you now or have you ever been a member of the communist party?" wrote FSP president Carla Gericke. "By which we mean: are you a member of ANY union? We should do our own questionnaire. Stark360."

"# Winning," wrote Rep. JR Hoell (R-Dunbarton). "When AFT needs to target your group by name, then you know you are being effective."

Much of the ensuing discussion assumed voters are wary of Free Staters simply because they have moved here from out of state.

House candidate Bill Walker noted former Rep. Seth Cohn "used to have a good list of Democrats that had moved here... it was over half of their reps."

"I didn't make the list, I can't recall who did," replied Cohn. "I'd talk to O'Brien, he might recall who (Greg Moore? Pam Tucker?) put together the list of hometowns for Reps in 2011 when this last was raised."

One person asked the obvious question: "What answer is best to give?"

" *ahem* I said teachers union," answered Bouldin.

"I meant it more as a general question," he replied. "Is it best to openly identify, come what may re: consequences, or should one hide the information to get into a better position?"