Jennifer Horn

In 2008, Granite Staters saw a presidential candidate cry on television, the defeat of an incumbent United States senator and Democrats become the majority party in a state that was once considered a bedrock of Republicanism.

All of these stories and more help make up PolitickerNH.com's top ten political stories of 2008.

Although 2008 saw the fall of several Republican heavyweights, it also gave birth to a group of Republicans who will shape the party, and New Hampshire, in 2009.

Below you will find a list of the top ten Republicans to watch for in the upcoming year.

U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes

After winning a contentious Republican primary, Jennifer Horn (R-Nashua) was never able to catch up to U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes (D-Concord) in fund-raising.

Federal Election Commission finance reports show that Hodes raised $2 million and spent $1.7 million to get re-elected to the 2nd Congressional District seat. In the final three weeks of the campaign, Hodes raised $131,964 and spent $340,773, and his campaign committee ended up with $98,133 in the bank.

Horn raised $306,310 and spent $498,766 in the election cycle. In October, Horn raised $66,150 and spent $137,133. She raised $43,504 from individuals and $22,500 from political action committees. Horn also loaned her campaign $238,361.

Two Republican consultants and the mayor of the largest city in New Hampshire have organized an invitation-only meeting for Granite State Republicans to get together and discuss ways to "move forward to 2010," PolitickerNH.com has learned.

The meeting, being billed as a "Working Meeting: A Positive Look Forward," is being organized by Jim Merrill, Neil Levesque and Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta. It is scheduled to take place on December 15th at Saint Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

Two former Republican congressional candidates and a Republican activist are slated to start their own radio shows.

Former state Sen. Bob Clegg (R-Hudson) will launch "Clegg's Corner" this Wednesday on Nashua's WSMN AM. His former rival in the 2nd Congressional District Republican primary Jennifer Horn (R-Nashua) will have a show on Monday mornings on the same radio station. Horn is a former radio talk show host, but left the job to run an ultimately unsuccessful campaign against incumbent U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes (D-Concord).

The Republican team this year consisted of what many called the "J-Team" with Jeb Bradley, John Sununu, Jennifer Horn, John McCain and Joe Kenney. If things play out as many expect right now the "J-Team" part II could be back in 2010. With Judd Gregg up for re-election, John Sununu as a gubernatorial possiblity, Jennifer Horn taking another shot at CD-2 and John Stephen not having to get through Jeb Bradley a thrid time, the top of the ticket could resemble 2008.

Looking at the list of potential State Republican chairmen, does this make Jay Flanders the front runner?

Paul Hodes

U.S Rep. Paul Hodes (D-Concord) is projected to win re-election against political newcomer Jennifer Horn (R-Nashua).

"It's all about people like Ann Marie Morrissey," Hodes said.

WMUR has declared that U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes (D-Concord) has won re-election against Jennifer Horn (R-Nashua).

Details to follow.

Andy Smith, director of the UNH Survey Center, is predicting that the Democratic federal candidates will win in New Hampshire.
 
"Barack Obama looks to win New Hampshire by a comfortable margin on Tuesday. In the race for U.S. Senate, Shaheen should win a narrow victory over incumbent John Sununu," Smith writes in his latest poll. "In Congressional races, incumbent Paul Hodes is predicted to win New Hampshire's 2nd District and incumbent Carol Shea-Porter looks to pull out a narrow victory in the 1st District."