St. Hilaire's Shameful Political Ambition

by: William Tucker

Sun Sep 25, 2011 at 08:53:42 AM EDT

Did Executive Councilor Dan St. Hilaire sacrifice the health of 16,000 New Hampshire residents for personal political ambition? Tony Schinella reports on the political calculations behind St. Hilaire's vote to reject the Planned Parenthood contract that would have provided health care services in the state.

The political rumor mill began spinning about a St. Hilaire gubernatorial run in 2012 not long after he voted to defund Planned Parenthood in June of this year. Up until that vote, he was not considered a serious potential statewide candidate since he drew a lot of his support from liberal-to-moderate Republicans and might not survive a primary, where voters tend to be more conservative. ...

Earlier this year, some conservative leaders wondered openly about the swerve to the right with the defund vote, thinking that St. Hilaire might be considering a potential bid for governor in 2012.

In an interview with the Concord Monitor, St. Hilaire confirmed he is, in fact, considering a gubernatorial run.

"I'm at the stage of deciding whether I should be jumping into the race or not," St. Hilaire said.