Political eyes throughout New Hampshire and in Washington, D.C., were riveted Monday on the results of a new Emerson College Poll on the open U.S. House race in New Hampshire’s 1st District.
“Either way, history is going to be made in the First District,” Augusta Petrone, longtime Republican activist from Peterborough, New Hampshire, told Newsmax.
She was referring to the fact that the First will either elect Democrat Chris Pappas as New Hampshire’s first openly gay congressman or Republican Eddie Edwards as the first black congressman from the Granite State.
According to the Emerson poll, Pappas leads Edwards by 40 to 35 percentage points. The margin of error is +/- 5.2 percent.
Pappas, 38, represents 19 municipalities as an executive councilor (statewide elected official). For four generations, his family has operated a popular restaurant in Manchester.
Edwards is a U.S. Navy veteran and former police chief of South Hampton, New Hampshire. He recently unveiled a series of powerful TV spots, in which he recalls being inspired to go into law enforcement after police rescued his mother from an abusive father.
Represented for three non-consecutive terms by retiring Democrat Carol Shea-Porter, the Manchester-based 1st District is considered leaning Democratic. But the Emerson poll indicates it is more competitive than usual.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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