Name: Sen. Tom Cotton says upcoming NH House special election has national implications
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Sen. Tom Cotton says upcoming NH House special election has national implications

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AdvertisementIn interview, conservative Arkansas senator talks about his own political plans, potential Sununu Senate candidacy, implications of HR 1 voting actAdvertisementSen. Tom Cotton says upcoming NH House special election has national implicationsIn interview, conservative Arkansas senator talks about his own political plans, potential Sununu Senate candidacy, implications of HR 1 voting actA special New Hampshire House election next week for a seat in Merrimack is attracting nationwide attention by Republicans who may have their sights set on becoming presidential candidates in 2024.Last week, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo campaigned virtually on behalf of Republican Town Council member Bill Boyd, who is facing Democratic former state Rep. Wendy Thomas for the seat that opened when House Speaker Dick Hinch died in December.Monday night, staunchly conservative and sometimes controversial U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas appeared at an online event organized by 2020 GOP congressional candidate Matt Mowers and the state Republican Party, which also featured former Sen. Kelly Ayotte.Cotton, in an interview with WMUR ahead of his appearance, talked about a wide range of issues but said this single New Hampshire House special election will have national implications.“If Wendy Thomas wins this seat, it will be portrayed --- not just by Democrats in New Hampshire, but in Washington and in our media -- as a huge victory for the Democratic Party, as an example of Joe Biden’s agenda putting the wind in the sails of the Democratic Party and foretelling good elections coming up for them in places like Virginia and New Jersey this fall, and in the midterm elections.“So it’s vital not just for New Hampshire that we keep this seat in Republican hands but that we show that the early steps of the Biden administration have been unpopular and are going to result in a major backlash in the elections ahead.”Cotton said special elections held in other states since Biden has become president have been in strong Republican or Democratic districts.“This seat is different,” he said. “It leans Republican but by no means is it a foregone conclusion. If the Democrats were to pick up this seat, there’s no question that they would pitch it the next day on CNN and the New York Times as a huge bellwether race that shows the Democratic Party has wind in its sails and is going to gain seats this fall and next year in the midterms."Cotton said a win by Boyd will be a good sign for his party beyond Merrimack and New Hampshire.“It would show that Republicans remain strong at the ballot box and we are poised for a huge comeback over the next two years as Joe Biden’s policies that are soft on immigration, soft on crime and will raise taxes on our families become increasingly unpopular,” Cotton said.Agrees with Gardner on HR 1 threat to primaryCotton said he agreed with Secretary of State William Gardner that the For the People Act, a Democratic bill pending in the U.S. Senate to restructure the way campaigns and elections are conducted, could end New Hampshire’s 100-year tradition of having the first presidential primary in the nation. Democrats say the bill is not related to the primary calendar.“It’s an effort to federalize our elections and make permanent the kind of risky and untested practices that so many states adopted last year in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic," Cotton said. "It would override all of your election laws in New Hampshire.“I do share Bill Gardner’s concerns that it could upend your status as the first-in-the-nation primary because, while that system now is run by our political parties, if the Democrats in power in Washington federalize our election system, what’s to make anyone think they won’t federalize the primary calendar?”As for his own political plans, the two-term senator said that it is too soon to speculate about 2024 but added, “I’ve enjoyed my trips to New Hampshire in the past campaigning for fellow Republicans. You can be confident that I’ll be back again in the future. Not just on Zoom, as we will be tonight, but in person very soon.”He noted that former President Donald Trump is also focusing on 2022, and not 2024, at least in his public statements."That’s the best way to set up our party for a great victory in 2024 no matter who runs.”Cotton to Sununu: 'The water's fine' Cotton said that as he focuses on helping Republicans try to win the majority in the Senate in 2022, Gov. Chris Sununu is a prime recruitment target."Governor Sununu obviously has been a great success in New Hampshire as evidenced by his increasing electoral victories and successes with the Legislature there. I know many Republican senators have spoken to him about the race as I have," Cotton said. "That will ultimately be a decision that he will make on behalf of his family, his state and himself, but I would encourage him to jump on in – the water’s fine.”“No matter who Republicans in New Hampshire choose as their nominee next year, the New Hampshire Senate race is going to be a number one target pickup seat for us," Cotton said. "But any chance you have to recruit a very popular Republican governor with a demonstrated track record of success at the ballot box and success in governing, that is obviously very appealing.“I would encourage him that we need more good Republicans in the Senate and he’s obviously demonstrated that he’s an extremely successful leader.”Georgia voting law, infrastructure bill, immigrationCotton said the Georgia voting law that prompted Major League Baseball to move its all-star game out of Atlanta this summer is being misrepresented by Biden and some media outlets."Georgia’s early voting and drop box laws are now much more permissive than Delaware’s are," he said. "Is Joe Biden going to attack his home state for running Jim Crow election? But when the left of the Democratic Party and in the media starts pressuring these ill-informed CEOs at places like Delta and Coca-Cola and major league baseball, they simply cave."Cotton said the CEOs “hold themselves up as some paradigm of moral virtue and instruction” when, he said, Coca-Cola "has been lobbying Congress not to adopt rules to punish China for its slave labor practices,” Delta Airlines is “pairing with Chinese airlines owned by the communist party” and MLB has “long worked with the communist government of Cuba and now the communist government of China as well.”“I think they should stick to selling sugar and drinks to Americans and overseeing men playing a boys’ sport, if you ask me.”Cotton said there is no sign that Biden and the Democrats are interested in a compromise on the president's more than $2 trillion American Jobs Plan."Once again the Biden administration’s actions belie their words," he said. "Joe Biden came into office preaching unity and bipartisanship, and they pushed through a $2 trillion budget blowout last month on a party line basis."And every indicator I’ve seen suggests that they want to do so again as well on this so-called infrastructure bill, which is really nothing but a Trojan horse for the biggest tax hike in American history and wasting a lot of money on long-standing liberal priorities.”On immigration, Cotton said the Biden policy is proving catastrophic and could be addressed by Biden without congressional action.He said Biden can alleviate the crisis by reinstating Trump administration policies to restrict immigration during the pandemic; require people seeking asylum in the United States to pursue the claim while in Mexico; and require people to seek asylum in a third country before coming through Mexico to the United States."Those three things alone would stop the crisis at our border," said Cotton.A special New Hampshire House election next week for a seat in Merrimack is attracting nationwide attention by Republicans who may have their sights set on becoming presidential candidates in 2024.Last week, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo campaigned virtually on behalf of Republican Town Council member Bill Boyd, who is facing Democratic former state Rep. Wendy Thomas for the seat that opened when House Speaker Dick Hinch died in December.AdvertisementMonday night, staunchly conservative and sometimes controversial U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas organized by 2020 GOP congressional candidate Matt Mowers and the state Republican Party, which also featured former Sen. Kelly Ayotte.Cotton, in an interview with WMUR ahead of his appearance, talked about a wide range of issues but said this single New Hampshire House special election will have national implications.“If Wendy Thomas wins this seat, it will be portrayed --- not just by Democrats in New Hampshire, but in Washington and in our media -- as a huge victory for the Democratic Party, as an example of Joe Biden’s agenda putting the wind in the sails of the Democratic Party and foretelling good elections coming up for them in places like Virginia and New Jersey this fall, and in the midterm elections.“So it’s vital not just for New Hampshire that we keep this seat in Republican hands but that we show that the early steps of the Biden administration have been unpopular and are going to result in a major backlash in the elections ahead.”Cotton said special elections held in other states since Biden has become president have been in strong Republican or Democratic districts.“This seat is different,” he said. “It leans Republican but by no means is it a foregone conclusion. If the Democrats were to pick up this seat, there’s no question that they would pitch it the next day on CNN and the New York Times as a huge bellwether race that shows the Democratic Party has wind in its sails and is going to gain seats this fall and next year in the midterms."Cotton said a win by Boyd will be a good sign for his party beyond Merrimack and New Hampshire.“It would show that Republicans remain strong at the ballot box and we are poised for a huge comeback over the next two years as Joe Biden’s policies that are soft on immigration, soft on crime and will raise taxes on our families become increasingly unpopular,” Cotton said.Agrees with Gardner on HR 1 threat to primaryCotton said he agreed with Secretary of State William Gardner that the For the People Act, a Democratic bill pending in the U.S. Senate to restructure the way campaigns and elections are conducted, could end New Hampshire’s 100-year tradition of having the first presidential primary in the nation. Democrats say the bill is not related to the primary calendar.“It’s an effort to federalize our elections and make permanent the kind of risky and untested practices that so many states adopted last year in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic," Cotton said. "It would override all of your election laws in New Hampshire.“I do share Bill Gardner’s concerns that it could upend your status as the first-in-the-nation primary because, while that system now is run by our political parties, if the Democrats in power in Washington federalize our election system, what’s to make anyone think they won’t federalize the primary calendar?”As for his own political plans, the two-term senator said that it is too soon to speculate about 2024 but added, “I’ve enjoyed my trips to New Hampshire in the past campaigning for fellow Republicans. You can be confident that I’ll be back again in the future. Not just on Zoom, as we will be tonight, but in person very soon.”He noted that former President Donald Trump is also focusing on 2022, and not 2024, at least in his public statements."That’s the best way to set up our party for a great victory in 2024 no matter who runs.”Cotton to Sununu: 'The water's fine' Cotton said that as he focuses on helping Republicans try to win the majority in the Senate in 2022, Gov. Chris Sununu is a prime recruitment target."Governor Sununu obviously has been a great success in New Hampshire as evidenced by his increasing electoral victories and successes with the Legislature there. I know many Republican senators have spoken to him about the race as I have," Cotton said. "That will ultimately be a decision that he will make on behalf of his family, his state and himself, but I would encourage him to jump on in – the water’s fine.”“No matter who Republicans in New Hampshire choose as their nominee next year, the New Hampshire Senate race is going to be a number one target pickup seat for us," Cotton said. "But any chance you have to recruit a very popular Republican governor with a demonstrated track record of success at the ballot box and success in governing, that is obviously very appealing.“I would encourage him that we need more good Republicans in the Senate and he’s obviously demonstrated that he’s an extremely successful leader.”Georgia voting law, infrastructure bill, immigrationCotton said the Georgia voting law that prompted Major League Baseball to move its all-star game out of Atlanta this summer is being misrepresented by Biden and some media outlets."Georgia’s early voting and drop box laws are now much more permissive than Delaware’s are," he said. "Is Joe Biden going to attack his home state for running Jim Crow election? But when the left of the Democratic Party and in the media starts pressuring these ill-informed CEOs at places like Delta and Coca-Cola and major league baseball, they simply cave."Cotton said the CEOs “hold themselves up as some paradigm of moral virtue and instruction” when, he said, Coca-Cola "has been lobbying Congress not to adopt rules to punish China for its slave labor practices,” Delta Airlines is “pairing with Chinese airlines owned by the communist party” and MLB has “long worked with the communist government of Cuba and now the communist government of China as well.”“I think they should stick to selling sugar and drinks to Americans and overseeing men playing a boys’ sport, if you ask me.”Cotton said there is no sign that Biden and the Democrats are interested in a compromise on the president's more than $2 trillion American Jobs Plan."Once again the Biden administration’s actions belie their words," he said. "Joe Biden came into office preaching unity and bipartisanship, and they pushed through a $2 trillion budget blowout last month on a party line basis."And every indicator I’ve seen suggests that they want to do so again as well on this so-called infrastructure bill, which is really nothing but a Trojan horse for the biggest tax hike in American history and wasting a lot of money on long-standing liberal priorities.”On immigration, Cotton said the Biden policy is proving catastrophic and could be addressed by Biden without congressional action.He said Biden can alleviate the crisis by reinstating Trump administration policies to restrict immigration during the pandemic; require people seeking asylum in the United States to pursue the claim while in Mexico; and require people to seek asylum in a third country before coming through Mexico to the United States."Those three things alone would stop the crisis at our border," said Cotton.Loading more articles...

AdvertisementIn interview, conservative Arkansas senator talks about his own political plans, potential Sununu Senate candidacy, implications of HR 1 voting actAdvertisementSen. Tom Cotton says upcoming NH House special election has national implicationsIn interview, conservative Arkansas senator talks about his own political plans, potential Sununu Senate candidacy, implications of HR 1 voting actA special New Hampshire House election next week for a seat in Merrimack is attracting nationwide attention by Republicans who may have their sights set on becoming presidential candidates in...

Sen. Tom Cotton says upcoming NH House special election has national implications

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