Former two-term New Hampshire Republican Sen. Bob Smith, away from Capitol Hill for 12 years, has officially tossed his hat into a widening ring to challenge Democratic incumbent Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
Making his announcement in Concord on Tuesday, Smith pitched himself as capable of wresting control from Washington "insiders," the
Concord Monitor reported.
"They’ll be personal, they’ll be vicious, and they’ll stop at nothing to retain their power," he said. "This is a war between them and us," he said, and vowed: "Washington is broken, out of control, and I’m prepared . . . to make whatever personal sacrifices it may take to wrest it from the insiders, from the establishment of both political parties, to put it back into the hands of the people."
Smith, 72, represented the Granite State in the House of Representatives from 1985 to 1990, and in the Senate from 1990 to 2002.
He filed to run in December.
He joins Republicans Jim Rubens and Karen Testerman, as well as an increasingly likely run by Republican former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown.
Shaheen's campaign had already sent its donor list an alert, announcing: "He's in," referring to a Smith challenge,
Slate magazine reported Wednesday.
"It’s probably pretty safe to say that the press never thought we’d be doing this together again," Smith said. "It’s been a long time, but the feeling is mutual – I didn’t expect to be here either."
Meanwhile, Brown appeared Monday to inch closer to an announcement on whether he'll run in the GOP primary.
"They keep running these negative ads and crushing my integrity and distorting my votes and the like — almost antagonizing me, challenging me to get in,"
Brown said of Democrat attack ads against him.
"Had they left me alone, I may feel a bit different. But they didn't . . . "If their intent was to discourage me, that's definitely not the case."
Late last year, Brown and wife Gail Huff sold their home in Wrentham, Mass., and moved to New Hampshire, but Brown has not put together a campaign team or organization,
Politico reported.
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