Jason Says Vote, New Hampshire!

Candidates: 

• Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D): First elected to the Senate in 2009. Prior to that, NH Governor (1997-2003), NH State Senator (1990-1996) Senate campaign site. 
• Fmr. U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R): U.S. Senator from MA (2010-2012), MA State Senator (2004-2010), MA State Representative (1998-2004). Senate campaign website.

Jason's Bottom Line:

• Scott Brown, fresh off of his loss to Progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts in 2012, moved to New Hampshire to run against Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Brown can't seem to shake the carpetbagger label, but if this turns out to be a low-turnout election, Shaheen may just lose her seat. 
• Jeanne Shaheen is a significant force in New Hampshire politics. She's continuously represented the Granite State in the state or federal government since 1990. But, NH has an independent streak, and the President is not very popular there. He is acting as a drag on Senator Shaheen's approval ratings. This race has another significance - as NH is currently the only state to ever have an entirely female Federal Delegation. If Shaheen falls to Brown - that won't be the case. 
• Scott Brown moved to New Hampshire in search of a friendlier political environment - but has continuously been dogged by the carpetbagger label. He's counting on low-turnout and high disgust at the President to pull him across the finish line. 

Issues:

Access to Affordable Health Care

• Jeanne Shaheen: As a Senator, Shaheen has been a strong proponent of increasing access to health care. She's made no apologies for helping people access affordable insurance. She's repeatedly voted to expand CHIP, protect employee's health care, and make the health care system more transparent. 
• Scott Brown: Is again running against the ACA - as he did in the 2010 Massachusetts Special Election. Additionally, when asked whether he supported the government shutdown over defunding the ACA, Brown said, "everyone's to blame" and that Democrats should have accepted delay in Obamacare implementation.
• Winner: Jeanne Shaheen
• I know that Senator Shaheen will always fight for affordable access to care - and that Senator Brown is easily bent by special interests and personal ambition.

Education/Student Debt

• Jeanne Shaheen: has a record (as a state lawmaker, Governor, and Senator) of putting public education first. Shaheen is an original co-sponsor of Senator Warren's bill to reduce student loan rates. 
• Scott Brown: Scott Brown believes in more localized control of school curricula, reforming No Child Left Behind, and increasing vouchers for public, private, or religious schools. Brown also voted no on a 3-year moratorium on new charter schools in Massachusetts. 
• Winner: Jeanne Shaheen
• Shaheen recognizes that education is the gateway to the middle class - and without it, students and families suffer. She's working hard in the Senate to ensure that everyone has access to affordable - and attainable - primary, secondary, and higher education. 

Pay Equity/Workplace Protections/Expanding the Middle Class

• Jeanne Shaheen: A staunch supporter of equal pay, Senator Shaheen co-sponsored the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act, and supports increasing the minimum wage. "As governor of New Hampshire Shaheen signed a law that created a process for addressing allegations of pay discrimination based on gender..." Senator Shaheen is also a vocal supporter of ENDA. 
• Scott Brown: Brown called ENDA and DOMA Repeal "pet projects." Brown also voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act, calling it a "burden" and against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.  
• Winner: Jeanne Shaheen
• Shaheen is a true champion for middle class workers. Scott Brown, on the other hand, pays lip service to centrist ideas, but never seems to find the middle ground with his votes.

Reproductive Rights/Women's Health Care

• Jeanne Shaheen: She has been a career-long supporter of women's access saying, "[t]hroughout my career in office, I have fought to ensure that women have access to important contraceptive services and that women are able to make their own decisions about their health care with their doctors and with their families." Shaheen has a 100% rating from NARAL and Planned Parenthood for 2014 (and the past 6 years). 
• Scott Brown: Brown claims to be pro-choice, but supports parental notification laws and restrictions on abortion access. He received a 100% rating from the National Right to Life Committee in 2010, an 80% rating from National Right to Life Committee in 2011/2012, a 0% rating from NARAL for 2012, and a 33% rating from Planned Parenthood in 2012. 
• Winner: Jeanne Shaheen
• Senator Shaheen has made it a prime focus of her career to protect access to choice. I know for sure where she stands. I don't trust that Brown will live up to his rhetoric as a U.S. Senator.

Marriage Equality

• Jeanne Shaheen: supports same-sex marriage. 
• Scott Brown: opposes same-sex marriage
• Winner: Jeanne Shaheen
• She has a history of supporting equality. Brown does not (he opposed marriage equality in Massachusetts and reportedly threatened a fellow Republican over a vote on putting gay marriage ban on the ballot in MA). 

Bipartisanship/Willingness to Work Across the Aisle

This is a big one for me as I deal with Congress every day for work. The willingness of a member to bridge the partisan divide is so important to get anything done. The super-partisanship of Washington is the reason that Congress is dysfunctional and has the lowest approval ratings ever. 

• Jeanne Shaheen: Senator Shaheen believes in a "third way" instead of a left-right debate. She's proven very effective at working with fellow-NH Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) to get things done for the state.
• Scott Brown: Former Massachusetts Senator Brown swept into Washington in 2010 - replacing Ted Kennedy - and ushering in the wave of Tea Party Conservatives. Brown championed gridlock, partisanship, and faux-deal making while in the Senate. He was not a centrist, and sided with the extremist Republican Senators more often than not. 
• Winner: Jeanne Shaheen
• We need someone who is willing to put partisanship aside and accomplish real gains for the middle class.