Stephen goes after Shea-Porter

Just one day after officially filing to run for a spot in the state's Congressional delegation, New Hampshire Republicans have already taken their gloves off.

John Stephen (R-Manchester), a 1st Congressional District candidate and former commissioner of Health and Human Services, issued a statement today condemning the district's Democratic U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter for voting to halt the passage of a 2007 bill that would increase oil shale development, and for opposing legislation that banned federal purchases of coal-to-liquid and tar sands petroleum.

Citing the current rising price of oil and record high prices of gasoline, the Republican candidate criticized both Shea-Porter and the entirety of Congress for acting as a "big roadblock" that "won't let these companies get the oil and gas to reduce demand for foreign oil and lower our prices."

In the statement, Stephen called for Congress "to give companies the tools to expand our energy supply, not to have a status quo Congress that blocks progress" and urged lawmakers in Washington to "change the way we do business."