Who’s In?

Kamala Harris & NH Dems — New Hampshire Democrats have been jubilant in the week since Joe Biden passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election contest, reporting dramatic increases in volunteer engagement and fundraising.

Two statewide polls from the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College and University of New Hampshire Survey Center have Harris up by 6 points in the state.

Then the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s coordinated campaign said volunteer requests increased by 280%.

And finally, NHDems released a memo flexing a major fundraising advantage in their down-ballot races, stating that “Cycle to date, the House Democratic Caucus has raised $1,005,260, more than four times the $235,374 the House Republican Caucus raised.”

With reports of Democratic enthusiasm surging across the country with the candidate change-up, expect to see more from Democrats on this soon, and check out our coverage on new polling that dropped this week.

Big Gretch — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made a big swing through New Hampshire this week, making a trio of stops across the state in her new role as the co-chair of the Kamala Harris campaign for president, drawing hundreds of attendees at a stop in Durham, and chairing an intimate reproductive rights roundtable in Nashua hosted by former NH House Speaker Terie Norelli.

The visit was a huge hit with Democrats in the state. Check out our coverage for more.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Returns — Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, husband to Kamala Harris, is set to return to the Granite State this Wednesday headline a Rally to Defend Reproductive Freedom in Concord. Emhoff was just in the state last month slinging pizza pies in Durham. Check out our coverage on that visit and look for more details on his trip this week coming soon.

Who’s Out!

Signs of Trouble from Ken Weyler — The embattled Republican House Finance Chair Ken Weyler has made some questionable decisions in supporting incumbent Senator Bill Gannon in his ailing fight against Republican House-backed primary challenger Emily Phillips.

Weyler has allegedly been removing Phillips campaign signs, then leaving signed notes admitting to removing the signs, a possible violation of state law.

According to New Hampshire RSA 664:17 No person shall remove, deface, or knowingly destroy any political advertising which is placed on or affixed to public property or any private property except the owner of the property, persons authorized by the owner of the property, or a law enforcement officer removing improper advertising.

NH GOP staffer Chris Maidment, in a since deleted post to X (formerly Twitter), said he had been in touch with the NH Department of Justice and seemingly confirmed “Ken Weyler has violated state law.”

Conservative Election Misinformation — Days before Joe Biden passed the torch to Kamala Harris in the 2024 Presidential contest, right-wing conservative blog NH Journal tweeted that the New Hampshire Biden-Harris presidential campaign had canceled a press conference centered around the dangers of Project 2025, and said the cancellation was evidence of diminished support for the president’s re-elect campaign in the state, in posts that went viral on social media.

The only problem? That was not true. Multiple campaign officials confirmed the press conference was never canceled, and no notice to that effect went out.

Rather than correct the misinformation, the author of the posts, Michael Graham, a disgraced former conservative radio show host who has been fired from previous media jobs for hate speech, then claimed — without evidence or sourcing provided — that the NH Biden-Harris campaign rescheduled their press event as a result of his social media posts.

We reached out to Graham to ask how he got the story so wrong, spreading dangerous election misinformation without sourcing or evidence provided. He declined to answer. Look for more on this from us soon.

Questionable Claims on Campaign Money — As reported by the Union Leader, NH State Rep Joe Sweeney, the founder of dark money group Granite Solutions, raised alarms over Republicans failures in fundraising this week after the Democratic Party published a memo flexing their fundraising strength over Republicans.

“In the last week alone, Democrat candidates & organizations have spent $168,607 on digital advertising via Facebook, Instagram, Google, and YouTube targeting New Hampshire voters. Republicans? Just $11,430. We’re being massively outspent online — and eventually, we won’t be able to claw back the disadvantage this sets up for November. The gap is staggering, and it poses a real threat to our efforts,” Sweeney wrote in an update.

However, in a social media post this week, Sweeney slammed House Democrats for spending the money they raise, saying “House Democrats have a 71% burn rate through June, spending significantly on consultants, vendors, and staff.”

Senior New Hampshire campaign strategists have balked at Sweeney’s assertion that House Democrats are being irresponsible, saying it’s wise for campaigns that raise money to then spend that money in election years. It is also a sign of campaign health to have a high burn-rate 100 days out from an election, and signals the likelihood of more incoming cash — something Sweeney likely knows.

But Sweeney has a personal interest in keeping cash flowing to Republicans. In addition to his dark money group, the NH GOP state committee has paid roughly 10% of their total funds raised since November 2023 to Spectrum Marketing, a media firm where Sweeney works as a Digital Media Specialist.