VP Pence Heads To New Hampshire; AFL-CIO Backs Democrats; More

CONCORD, NH — In a sign that New Hampshire's four Electoral College votes continue to be an important part of the Trump-Pence 2020 reelection effort, the campaign announced the vice president will be in the state Tuesday for a rally in Gilford.

Vice President Mike Pence will host a rally at 3 p.m. at the AutoServ Hangar on Aviation Way. Tickets are still available here for the event.

"The Vice President will deliver remarks highlighting the historic accomplishments of the Trump administration at a Make America Great Again! Rally," said Laura Schlapp, a staffer in the vice president's office. "During President Trump and Vice President Pence’s Administration, they have enacted pro-growth policies, which led to an unemployment rate of 2.4 percent in New Hampshire and 20,800 New Hampshire jobs, including 2,500 manufacturing jobs since President Trump took office."

Pence is expected to fly into Manchester and then drive to Gilford for the event. Commuters on Interstate 93 north should expect traffic and security issues for short periods of time between 1:30 and 3 p.m. and then, after the rally, on I-93 South between Gilford and Manchester.

Ray Buckley, the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said the vice president's return to the state will remind voters of the promises "he and Donald Trump have broken" and the need for a new administration.

"Vice President Pence may be coming to the Granite State next week to barrage voters with more lies, but that doesn’t change the fact that he and President Trump have failed to protect American lives and livelihoods here and around the country. Granite Staters know the reality: six months into a global pandemic, thousands of us have lost jobs in the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression, and we are nowhere close to the end of this crisis," he said.

The Trump campaign has had several surrogates in the state campaigning in competition for the state's Electoral College votes. Eric Trump was in Portsmouth Thursday as well as Maine. Pence's nephew, John Pence, was in Littleton Tuesday and Conway and Concord on Wednesday and Thursday, and First Lady Melania Trump, while not a campaign event, was in Concord and Manchester Thursday. Andrew Mahaleris, the deputy communications director for Maine and New Hampshire, said the Pence appearance as well as other surrogates showed the campaign was not taking the state for granted.

"Over the past few weeks, President Trump revved up Granite Staters in Londonderry, Eric Trump opened an office in Portsmouth, and Trump Campaign Senior Advisors Corey Lewandowski and John Pence rallied supporters across the state," he said. "And this week, both Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump Jr. are headed to the Granite State. Meanwhile, Joe Biden's low energy approach has trickled down to the people who should be his biggest supporters, with New Hampshire Democrat Chairman Ray Buckley offering an apathetic, 'If Joe Biden does come, great. If he doesn't that's fine, too.'"

While former Biden has not been to the state in many months, his wife, Jill Biden, and Doug Emhoff, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris' husband, were in Bedford Wednesday for an event.

Concord Reps. Make A Statement

State Reps. Katherine Rogers, Kris Schultz, and Safiya Wazir, all Democrats from Concord, were outside the Statehouse Sunday shining a light on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Holly Shulman, a spokeswoman for the party, who submitted this photo to Patch.

Hard to tell but that’s me & @WazirNh & @katbeep in front of the State House with a very important message: #TrumpLied200KDied https://t.co/IqAnztlj7U
— St Rep Kris Schultz (@KrisSchultzNH) September 21, 2020

NH AFL-CIO Backs Democrats

In a flurry of emails Tuesday, the New Hampshire AFL-CIO announced endorsements for Dan Feltes for governor and U.S. Reps. Chris Pappas and Ann McLane Kuster.

Union President Glenn Brackett said Feltes had been "a true leader for labor" pushing for "prevailing wage, responsible contractor legislation, cuts in prescription drug costs, and worker misclassification and wage theft protections." He said Kuster was "the real deal" and had been a friend of labor for many years while Pappas had been "a strong advocate for working families through his whole career."

All the candidates thanked the union for the endorsements.

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Fear Of A Post-Ginsburg Supreme Court

Democrats held a press conference at the state Supreme Court Monday raising concerns about the U.S. Supreme Court in the wake of the death of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Most of the state leaders, including Senate President Donna Soucy, Executive Councilor Debora Pignatelli, Feltes, and others.

"Women across New Hampshire and the country have been mourning the loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was the last line of defense on the Supreme Court against Donald Trump’s attacks on Roe v. Wade and our reproductive rights," said Cinde Warmington, the Democrat's nominee for the District 2 Executive Council seat. "I'm no stranger to attacks on reproductive health care — here in New Hampshire, Chris Sununu is waging an all-out attack on reproductive health care which is part of what motivated me to run for the Executive Council. Like Donald Trump he's trying to reshape New Hampshire’s Supreme Court with anti-choice activists at the helm. And we must stop him."

Mindi Messmer, another Executive Council candidate from District 3, agreed saying Ginburg's passing made the issues "even more urgent" than before.

Gov. Sununu Launches New Ad

In his latest 30 second ad, called "Tougher," Gov. Chris Sununu promotes his administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch the ad below on YouTube.com.

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