Dems Appear To Boost ‘America First’ Republican in New Hampshire Primary

Marks Democrats’ latest effort to interfere with a Republican primary

Patrick Hauf • August 29, 2022 6:15 pm

Democrats appear to be boosting an “America First” pro-Trump candidate in New Hampshire’s Republican primary, the New Hampshire Journal reported.

Reynolds DeWalt, a Democratic mail shop that has produced campaign signs for Democrats such as Hillary Clinton and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), sent flyers to Republican primary voters in New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District to promote a Trump-friendly candidate, according to the Journal. Republicans in the state are pointing to the flyers from the political mail firm, which since 2018 has received roughly $500,000 for its services through the Democratic Party’s main donation platform, as the latest Democratic effort to meddle in a Republican primary.

“It would appear to me, as a direct mail professional, that the Democrat effort to meddle in GOP primaries has come to New Hampshire,” Chuck McGee, a Republican marketing specialist in the state, told the Journal. “I’ve never seen this in my 30 years of working in New Hampshire politics.”

The flyers have no disclosure about which group funded the distribution, which could lead to legal repercussions. The New Hampshire attorney general’s office told the Journal it is looking into the matter.

National Democratic groups have boosted pro-Trump candidates in Republican primaries this year in hopes they will fare worse against Democratic candidates than self-described moderate Republicans. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee successfully boosted Trump-endorsed candidate John Gibbs over Rep. Peter Meijer (R., Mich.), one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach the former president. The Democratic Governors Association also succeeded in its push for pro-Trump candidates in tight gubernatorial primaries in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

One flyer sent to Republican voters features a picture of candidate Bob Burns with former president Donald Trump and declares that Burns is “100 percent pro-Trump.” Another flyer depicts Burns and his opponent, Keene mayor George Hansel, with the caption, “Who Stands With Trump?” The two candidates said they were not involved in the distribution of the flyers. Reynolds DeWalt did not respond to a request for comment.

Rep. Annie Kuster’s (D., N.H.) reelection race is listed as lean-Democratic and polling data show a tight campaign in the Republican primary, which will be decided on Sept. 13. Burns is a businessman who has worked for several Republican campaigns. Hansel is a businessman who won 91 percent of the vote in his reelection as mayor of Keene.