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The Second Tom Eaton Campaign of 2008

by: elwood

Sat Jun 14, 2008 at 09:49:15 AM EDT
On Thursday Tom Eaton of Keene filed for the Republican nomination for State Senator from District 10, covering Keene and surrounding towns from Chesterfield to Dublin, from Richmond to Surry. But this is his second campaign. The first one was a quasi-public campaign to get a job on the State Liquor Commission.

The threat and proposed deal was clear to anyone reading the papers. If John Lynch would give Eaton an appointment to the Commission, he wouldn't run - giving Democrat and Lynch supporter Molly Kelly an apparent clear path to re-election.

The Friday Sentinel mentioned the back-story:

Before deciding to enter the election, Eaton had also expressed interest in a vacant state liquor commission seat. "That hasn't happened, and you just can't wait," [Eaton] said.
elwood :: The Second Tom Eaton Campaign of 2008
Eaton won the District 10 seat after the unexpected death of Junie Blaisdell a few years ago. He ran as a moderate Republican, and claimed to support reproductive rights.

But he won the Senate Presidency and claimed that the position required him to stay on the sidelines on close issues. The parental notification bill that Kelly Ayotte defended unsuccessfully in the US Supreme Court passed only because Eaton refused to vote. That ticked off a lot of his constituents; then Eaton managed to tick off his Senate Republican colleagues, who replaced him as Senate President.

Eaton claims that he lost to Kelly 63%-37% because 2006 was a terrible year for Republicans in general.  He glosses over the role his own record played.

Joe Kenney is running for Governor warning that New Hampshire is becoming "Massachusetts North." He might want to cite Eaton in his speeches. Eaton's failed ploy to get a patronage job in exchange for not running is redolent of the worst sort of machine politics.
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The Second Tom Eaton Campaign of 2008 | 7 comments
Tommy appreciates the perils of delay (4.00 / 1)
as only an (ex)undertaker can. One becomes irrelevant so soon, doesn't one. However, an endorsement of Tommy's run by well-known Dem Mike Blastos is not insignificant in local politics.

I volunteered for John Edwards, and join him in support of Barack Obama.
"One becomes irrelevant so soon" (4.00 / 1)
Blastos talked about "my constituency" in the Sentinel.

Ummm, Mike?

[ Parent ]
Blastos= Lieberman ;-) (4.00 / 1)
Frmr. Mayor Blastos was no big help, and in someways was a thorn in the side, last time around.

His lack of support does not really hurt because there was no support last time.

I'm outside of Keene (particularly for the past 15 months) just enough to not quite know how much weight this will carry.

Current Mayor Pregent does not seem afraid to support Molly.

I just don't see how Eaton wins in a do-over.

I think the fact that he is running again speaks to the lack of a Republican Bench here in the Monadnock Enclave.  

Hope > Fear

[ Parent ]
Mayor Pregent was at the Cheshire Dem HQ event today (4.00 / 1)
speaking warmly of the slate including Molly.
[ Parent ]
Lieberman? Ouch, that's pretty harsh... ;-) n/t (0.00 / 0)


I volunteered for John Edwards, and join him in support of Barack Obama.
[ Parent ]
Point well taken, elwood (0.00 / 0)
but despite his former-ness, Mike is still influential with various well-established demographics in the city, many of whom are still hale and hearty, and likely to vote. Just sayin'.

I volunteered for John Edwards, and join him in support of Barack Obama.
[ Parent ]
Eaton lives in the state of denial (4.00 / 1)
Tom (my family's mortician for generations) has been with dead people so long he doesn't realize that he is politically dead.

Tom did some very bad things in the state senate and people have not forgotten.

Molly will win two to one again.

The Second Tom Eaton Campaign of 2008 | 7 comments
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