Does Anyone Know Who's Running for Governor?

With Barack Obama in New Hampshire yesterday, and Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan coming tomorrow, it's easy to forget that there's another important race going on in this state right now.

The race for governor has been overshadowed by the fact that New Hampshire is a swing state in the presidential election. And what little attention the governor's race has received has been more focused on celebrity supporters like and .

A University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll released last week showed that most New Hampshire voters still have no idea who's running for governor. And the primary election is just 23 days from today.

Only one candidate, Republican Ovide Lamontagne, is known to a majority of adults in the state. More than 70 percent of those surveyed said they didn't know enough about Republican Kevin Smith or Democrats Jackie Cilley and Maggie Hassan to say how they feel about them. And more than 80 percent said they don't know enough about Democrat Bill Kennedy.

Not surprisingly, both the UNH Survey Center and Public Policy Polling see the race as a tossup no matter which Democrat and which Republican wins the primary. In the primary election, the PPP poll has Lamontagne with a more than 2 to 1 edge over Smith, and Hassan leading Cilley 30 percent to 24 percent.

Maybe this will all change after Labor Day, when voters traditionally start paying more attention to election year politics. But by then, the primary will be just a week away.

Zombies for Cilley

Perhaps looking to raise their profile as summer draws to a close, three of the gubernatorial hopefuls launched new TV ads last week.

Cilley launched a television ad campaign on Friday on cable and broadcast stations across the state. The initial buy features two ads, according to the campaign. One is a straightforward appeal to voters about the future of the state, but the other, featuring zombies – that's right, zombies – is described as "a lighthearted take on pledge politics and how it shuts down conversation about the investments needed to improve the economy and create good jobs."

The Lamontagne campaign also premiered its first television ad on Friday. The ad, entitled, "Heart," features Lamontagne discussing his vision for New Hampshire's future with voters. The ad will begin airing tomorrow on cable and broadcast stations statewide.

Hassan launched her third TV ad of the campaign, "Difference," on Wednesday. The ad will appear on WMUR and cable stations, and focuses on Hassan's "experience and record standing up for middle class families." The ad buy is approximately $70,000, according to the campaign.

The Smith campaign was the first gubernatorial candidate to hit the airwaves, and has aired several television ads in recent months.

Smith campaign gets a boost

Speaking of Smith, the newly formed Granite Freedom PAC launched a website last week in support of Smith's gubernatorial campaign. The site will focus attention on the differences between Smith and his opponents.

“We are very excited to launch the website today and provide another means for voters in New Hampshire to learn about Kevin Smith and the clear differences between him and his opponents on both sides of the aisle,” said Alicia Preston, the PAC's treasurer. “Kevin has a solid conservative record and the right qualifications to lead this state back to prosperity and the experience to get the job done right... We look forward to doing what we can to get Kevin Smith elected.”

Rudy Giuliani, during his swing through the state on Wednesday, attended a fundraiser for the PAC at the home of Renee and Don Plummer in Portsmouth.

Three more sheriffs endorse Lamontagne

Law enforcement does seem to love Lamontagne, as he picked up the endorsements of three more New Hampshire sheriffs last week. That bring the number of sheriffs endorsing him to eight.

Those endorsing Lamontagne last week included Rockingham County Sheriff Michael Downing, Belknap County Sheriff Craig Wiggin and Sullivan County Sheriff Michael Prozzo.

"Ovide Lamontagne has spent months traveling the state, taking the time to meet and speak with sheriffs, police chiefs and county attorneys alike," said Downing, a Salem resident. "He has listened closely to us, and he understands the challenges our law enforcement community faces daily."

'Business Leaders for Maggie'

The Hassan campaign last week announced the formation of the "Business Leaders for Maggie" steering committee, a new group that will organize support from the business community across the state.

The committee consists of more than 40 business leaders, including people like Dan Chartrand of Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, Mary Jo Brown of Brown & Company in Portsmouth, Chris Pappas of The Puritan Backroom in Manchester, Will Manzer of Eastern Mountain Sports, and Jamie Trowbridge of Yankee Publishing.

“Maggie Hassan’s vision for economic development, jobs and education is about investing in those drivers that will attract new business to New Hampshire,” said Will Manzer, CEO of Eastern Mountain Sports. “I support Maggie Hassan for Governor because it makes good business sense to do so.”

Kuster, Shea-Porter lead in polling

Two polls released last week, one by the liberal Democracy for America PAC and the other by Public Policy Polling, showed Democrats Annie Kuster and Carol Shea-Porter either leading or tied in their respective Congressional races.

The DFA poll has Shea-Porter leading Republican Frank Guinta by a 48 percent to 44 percent margin, and Kuster leading Republican Charles Bass by a 47 percent to 43 percent margin.

The PPP poll, meanwhile, has Shea-Porter leading Guinta by a 47 percent to 43 percent margin, with Kuster and Bass tied at 42 percent.

Kuster releases TV ad

The gubernatorial candidates weren't the only ones taking to the airwaves last week. Kuster also released the first TV ad of her campaign, "Yankee," which highlights the "Yankee values and bipartisan aproach she learned from her parents," according to a statement released by her campaign.

“Annie has spent more than 25 years bringing people together to tackle tough challenges facing New Hampshire’s middle class families,” said Garrick Delzell, Annie Kuster’s campaign manager. “People are fed up with the partisan gridlock in Washington. Annie will bring a commonsense, bipartisan approach to the job at a time when that type of leadership is sorely needed in Congress.”