NH Republican Candidates Pull The Lobbyist Card

Kevin Smith and Ovide Lamontagne may have participated in a debate yesterday, but they still had some ammo in them for another one today.

Their exchange was pretty mild during this afternoon’s debate at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, until Lamontagne went on the offensive after Smith criticized his zero-based budgeting plan.

Lamontagne called out his opponent for being a lobbyist. Smith registered as a lobbyist with the National Organization for Marriage last year.

Smith fired back and pointed out that Lamontagne was registered as a lobbyist in 2006 for Liggett Vector Brands, Inc, a cigarette manufacturing and tobacco distribution company based in North Carolina.

This back-and-forth came after a question about cutting the budget next year, where Lamontagne asserted that a zero-based budgeting approach would be the best way to cut costs in the state.

Smith disagreed. He said that this method sounds nice in theory, but does not seem to work at the state government level. Instead, state departments should put together budgets that have only 97 percent of previous spending, since they should be getting more efficient each year.

The debate was part of WMUR’s “Commitment 2012: Candidates In Your Community” series, with questions from the station’s political director James Pindell and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript editor Priscilla Morrill.

The candidates also went after each others' credentials and claimed that they had the right experience to beat the Democrats. The Republican nominee will go up against Maggie Hassan, Jackie Cilley or Bill Kennedy later this year.

John Babiarz is running as a Libertarian candidate.

Smith argued that Lamontagne’s experience in business is unlikely to translate to good leadership in the governor’s office. He added that his experience as a state representative and executive director of the conservative political advocacy organization Cornerstone Action qualifies him for the governor’s office.

Lamontagne fired back after Smith criticized his election-losing streak, saying that his opponent’s single term as a state representative isn’t proof that he can lead. He said that his years of experience in business gives him the edge over his opponent.

“We need people who have done things in their private life that can translate into public service,” said Lamontagne. He is currently practicing business law with the law firm of Devine, Millimet & Branch.

He added that health care would be a major issue for the Republican nominee, and claimed that he had much more experience in health care than his opponent, since he has worked with hospitals in his law firm.

Smith said he has much more substance and a detailed plan to get jobs back into the state. In addition, he said he has more experience in fighting against legislation.

“Ovide has spent majority of his career in courtroom; I have been spending my career getting reforms in state government,” he said.

Both candidates defended their conservative principles, opposition to "Obamacare" and their commitment to the state’s economy. They both also agreed that the issue of same-sex marriage in New Hampshire is not over, although it will not be the focus of their campaigns.

The biggest difference politically is that Smith said he wears his Republican label with pride, while Lamontagne claimed to be a conservative first, and a Republican second.

Well, there was also one big difference that came out of the debate. When asked if they would rather be more like Gov. John Lynch or Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Smith said he was more inclined to follow his own path and do what is right in New Hampshire.

Lamontagne on the other hand, who has been quoted as saying he will be “Scott Walker on steroids,” joked that he could be a mix of both: Scott Lynch.