New Hampshire has an ambivalent relationship with the Bush dynasty. This rural enclave was the only state in New England to vote for George Bush in the 2000 presidential election, giving him four vital electoral votes. But its presidential primary has seldom been kind to the Bushes. In 1992 George Bush senior beat Pat Buchanan by an insultingly small margin for a sitting president; this was to be a warning of disaster to come. In 2000 his son lost to John McCain, igniting an internal Republican revolt that was only stopped by dark deeds in South Carolina. Now the state has a chance to determine whether President Bush can push his ambitious legislative agenda through Congress. Republicans will be hard-pressed to win control of the Senate if they allow their hold over New Hampshire to be broken. But Jeanne Shaheen, the Democratic candidate, is putting up a strong fight against her Republican rival, John Sununu, and stands an even chance of becoming the first Granite State Democrat elected to the Senate since 1975.
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