Can I get a little help from our New Hampshire readers? Is this Ovide Lamontagne guy, who is facing off against other Republicans to become New Hampshire’s next U.S. congressman, actually being taken seriously by serious people? He hasn’t been on my radar, but he sure as hell is now, appearing in the Republican debate where he was the only one to come out not just for a Federal Marriage Amendment, but for banning same-sex couples from adopting.
[flv:http://media.queerty.net/Ovide1.mp4 https://queerty-prodweb.s3.amazonaws.com/wp/docs-null/2010/09/ovide0923.jpg 650 400]
Lamontagne, a Tea Party-type, is gaining in the polls against frontrunner Kelly Ayotte, relays WaPo, which notes his spike “has largely escaped the attention of the media. It shouldn’t.”
GOP sources say if anyone pulls an upset of Ayotte in a crowded primary field, it’s more likely to be Lamontagne, the party’s gubernatorial nominee in 1996, rather than the two free-spending businessmen in the contest.
The lack of focus on the New Hampshire race — and the difficulty in prognosticating its outcome — has largely come from a (maddening!) dearth of quality public polling, but conversations with GOP strategists in the Granite State suggest an upset isn’t out of the question.
“Right now, he’s the frontrunners’ biggest nightmare, because they really don’t know what to do,” said longtime New Hampshire GOP strategist Tom Rath who is neutral in the race. “You can’t attack him because he’s like a sacred cow, and you can’t get to his right.”
Added former state GOP Chairman Fergus Cullen: “I think Kelly’s going to win this thing, but I don’t think it’s impossible that Ovide … comes out the surprising winner.”
But Lamontagne’s hard-line stance on LGBT equality is put up against this interesting position (for a Republican) on spending: any federal tax cuts need to come with spending cuts. How novel! Hah. This man is full of riddles.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Pretty please repugnatican party, keep kowtowing to the loonytoons tea baggers. Keep on nominating faaaarrrr right zealots. You will have a nationwide series of repeats of NY23 where the repugnaticans frightwing lunatics tossed a hissy fit because the frontrunner was not conserative enough. The replacement who was a teabagger farright wing nutbag lost to the Democrat. A seat the repugnaticans had held for decades………….
TampaZeke
Ovaltine Lemon Tang, sounds like the preferred drink of Mormon astronauts.
GayGOP
Thankfully, it looks as if Ovide Lamontagne is going to come in fourth or fifth in a five way race, with former State AG Kelly Ayotte, a reasonable, Olympia Snowe-esque moderate, and very pro-gay Bill Binnie fighting it out for top two in the GOP primary.
Paschal
@GayGOP: Kelly Ayotte is not a moderate on social issues. She opposes gay marriage, in fact she resigned as Attorney General because New Hampsgire legalised marriage equality, and she opposes gay couples being allowed to adopt.
Putney from Manchester, NH
Ovide is not Tea Party member – he is very conservative, very religious, and very likeable. He is a respected lawyer in Manchester and does not come across like a typical politician.
I disagree with GayGOP’s description of Kelly Ayotte – Paschal is totally correct.
Jason
I watched the debate and he is by far the craziest candidate, according to the polls there isn’t even a chance he could receive the republican nomination.
Kelly Ayotte and Bill Binnie are the front runners, Bill Binnie is Pro choice and for gay rights in that he believes that the government should have less say in our lives, including gay marriage and gay adoption and thinks that gay marriage in NH is a settled issue. Kelly Ayotte is very right wing and is extremely anti-gay, she is against gay marriage and gay adoption. I really hope Bill Binnie wins the nomination because I’m not sure the Democratic nominee Paul Hodes will win in November.
whatever
Kelly Ayotte is a “mama grizzly.” Ain’t no way the Wasila Grifter is endorsing a Snowe-esque moderate. She’s hard right.
ChristianNH
Lamontagne is a whack job that has lost miserably in the last race he ran in NH. Ayotte is the one to watch.
Guy Caron
Want to know who this “Ovide Lamontagne guy” is? Read this:
http://www.goffstownresidentsassociation.com/columns/caron/100909_caron.htm