Another week of #NHPolitics Ins and Outs, taking you on a tour of the ins and outs of the ever-changing world of New Hampshire Politics, keeping score of the winners and losers week-by-week — and letting you know who’s in and who’s out.

Let’s get into it.

Who’s In?

“Old School Legend” Ruth Griffin — Remembrances poured in for one of the most groundbreaking figures in New Hampshire, Ruth Griffin of Portsmouth who passes away this week at 99. Griffin, a Republican, was the first woman to be elected and collectively serve in New Hampshire’s State House, Senate, and Executive Council, and was a highly sought after figure among Republicans FITN campaigns, famously dancing with George W. Bush in January of 2000 as he campaigned in the state.

“Ruth Griffin was the epitome of all that used to define NH Republicans: Decent, thoughtful, conservative but caring. She was the first woman in NH history to serve in the House, Senate and on the Executive Council. A true NH icon,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley, in a remembrance on social media. Read more at Seacoast Online.

Annie Kuster’s Bet on Walz — Paul Steinhauser, writing for the Concord Monitor, is out this week with a big story on outgoing Congresswoman Annie Kuster’s predictions on how Tim Walz’s addition to the New Hampshire ballot could impact the ticket.

“It’s going to help us win the two congressional seats and win the governor’s race,” Kuster said, making a big prediction that the Walz brand would resonate in the Granite State. Read more here.

Pappas & Hassan Hear from Veterans on PACT Act — This week Congressman Chris Pappas and Senator Maggie Hassan held a Manchester roundtable with local and national veteran leaders on PACT Act implementation.

We got a chance to chat with Pappas in an exclusive interview after the roundtable, look for more on that next week.

NH’s Fifth Congressional Delegation Member Boosts Harris — This week NH’s BFF from the other side of the country, California Congressman Ro Khanna took a big swing through the state campaigning for Kamala Harris and down ballot Democrats.

Check out our write up on one of his stops here.

Who’s Out!

They Just Can’t Help Themselves — This week sitting NH GOP State Rep. Tim Cahill made waves when he shared a patently racist meme denigrating the mixed race background of Democratic candidate for president Kamala Harris.

Rather than take the meme down, Cahill doubled down. In an exchange with a House colleague who took exception to his racist behavior, Cahill said he had been issued a “black card,” allowing him to make racist jokes.

As many predicted about Donald Trump and his supporters when a woman of color led the presidential ticket, Republicans wouldn’t be able to stop themselves from engaging in racist attacks on Harris. We’re seeing the NH GOP dip their toe in that pool now, as no Republican House members have spoken out against Cahill’s post.

Look for more on this soon.

Desperate Campaigns do Desperate Things — Republicans fell over themselves this week scrambling to find a line of attack on The Harris/Walz ticket, which is currently sending the Trump campaign into a dangerous nosedive.

Some Republicans have decided that spreading misinformation on the military record of Tim Walz the way to go. The strategy, first implemented by Trump senior strategist Chris LaCivita against John Kerry, has been picked up by local Republicans like State Rep. Joe Sweeney, who posted a meme this week implying Walz dodged a military deployment at the end of his 24 year career in the U.S. National Guard.

Sweeney, who has no record of military service, likely knew that Republican claims Walz intentionally dodged a military deployment to Iraq were bunk, as has been fact checked by major news outlets, Walz had already announced his intention to run for Congress by the time he learned he might be deployed.

Choosing to make a dishonest attack on a 20+ year record of military service purely for political gain — as a non-veteran — is morally dubious choice, even for a staunch Trump supporter like Sweeney. But as someone once said, desperate campaigns do desperate things, and Trump’s campaign is looking more desperate by the day.

The Final Humiliation of Chuck Morse — “Sad” seems like the word most NH political pros are using to describe how Republican gubernatorial candidate Chuck Morse is going out of his primary. This week he lashed out at Governor Chris Sununu following his endorsement of primary competitor Kelly Ayotte, saying, “I’d take my track record of ideas, views, and accomplishments over Chris Sununu’s any day.”

Morse, of course, has never won a statewide New Hampshire race, and this run is largely seen as his last best attempt at running for a role higher than State Senate. One many do not expect to be successful.