CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Democrat Annie Kuster is hoping to be the first New Hampshire woman elected five times to federal office when she faces Republican challenger Steve Negron in the race for the 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday.
It’s a rematch of the 2018 race for Kuster and Negron, who runs a defense consulting and engineering firm in Nashua.
“I’m uniquely situated for this district, having been raised in a Republican family and now running as a Democrat,” said Kuster. “My whole approach is bringing people together to get the job done.”
Negron, who feels that Kuster has been in lockstep with her party - a charge she disagrees with - says it’s time for a change.
“You’ll find out I’m just a guy from my community who’s trying to make a difference,” he said.
The candidates disagree on a range of issues including coronavirus relief aid, protections for police from lawsuits and abortion.
Kuster said the latest, House-passed $2 trillion aid package that would include more stimulus payments, restore jobless benefits, and assist schools, airlines, restaurants, and other groups contains $800 million for New Hampshire to make up for revenue lost during the pandemic. If the bill isn’t passed, “there’s going to be devastating cuts to the state and local budgets that will impact our schools, our infrastructure, our economy for years to come,” she said.
But negotiations have stalled in Washington, and Negron said such items could be targeted separately. “There are folks out there like myself that could benefit from another round of PPP,” he said, referring to the Paycheck Protection Program , a small-business coronavirus relief program. “But for whatever reason, we’re not looking at that in isolation, we want this entire thing, or nothing … let’s just pass the stuff we can agree on.”
Regarding the relief package, Kuster said, “I think you want to try to accomplish as much as you can.”
The pandemic made it even more challenging to campaign in the large, mostly rural district that stretches from New Hampshire’s border with Canada to the Massachusetts line and includes the cities of Nashua and Concord. Negron volunteers first put out 100 large signs and made lots of phone calls to get his name out; Kuster held a number of virtual town hall meetings.
Negron eventually returned to door-to-door campaigning, while Kuster held short, small visits, mostly outdoors. She said she always wears a mask. Negron said he wears a mask in places that request them and when he’s close to people outdoors. He declined to wear one for a Portsmouth rally for President Donald Trump.
On other issues, Negron and Kuster disagree on qualified immunity, which frequently protects law enforcement officers from lawsuits. Negron, a retired U.S. Air Force officer, wants to keep that protection for police and received the endorsement of the New Hampshire Police Association. Kuster voted for a far-reaching police overhaul bill in the House named for George Floyd, whose death sparked a national reconsideration of policing tactics and racial injustice.
The candidates also differ on abortion. Negron opposes abortion in all cases. Kuster, who supports abortion rights, has been endorsed by NARAL Pro Choice America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
Negron said Kuster hasn’t shown that she’s been an independent voice for New Hampshire, not afraid to disagree with her party. Kuster said she’s broken with House Democrats to work to repeal a tax on medical devices that was part of the Affordable Care Act. She was one of two Democrats who cosponsored a Republican bill on health care for veterans that President Donald Trump signed into law in 2018. It helps veterans in states without a full-service VA hospital, like New Hampshire.
Kuster’s priorities include her House-passed health care bills to protect Americans with preexisting condition and to ensure the efficient distribution of a vaccine when one is deemed safe; lowering the costs of prescription drugs; providing treatment and resources during the opioid epidemic; and investing in clean renewable energy to protect the environment and create jobs.
Negron wants to bring down the national budget deficit, starting with an examination of the Department of Defense to find more efficient ways of using money and to increase health care access by eliminating barriers to entry for multiple insurance providers in New Hampshire and making costs transparent.
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