New Hampshire Gubernatorial Race

Incumbent	John Lynch
Party	Democratic
Seeking Re-election?	Probably
Candidate Website	Governor Website Campaign Website

Potential Challenger	Charlie Bass, former NH-02 Rep (1994-2006)
Party	Republican
Source of Information	Guess
Candidate Website	House Campaign Website

Potential Candidate	Steve Marchand, Portsmouth Mayor
Party	Democrat
Notes	If Lynch runs for Senate (in 2010), this seat will open up. Marchand is young and new to his position, but he is a talented candidate and will eventually look for a promotion.
Candidate Website	City of Portsmouth bio

Potential Challenger	St. Sen. Joseph D. Kenney
Party	Republican
Source of Information	Press report, 6/21/07
Candidate Website	Sen. Joseph Kenney website

Potential Challenger	Matt Keough
Party	Republican - lost 2002 GOP Gov. primary - current chair of Romney NH campaign
Source of Information	Matt Keough Gov. bid?
Candidate Website	none located

Potential Challenger	St. Rep. Bea Francoeur
Party	She is a Republican but is mulling run as a Libertarian
Source of Information	Green Sheet
Candidate Website	Bea Francoeur information

Background Information

John Lynch ran for Governor in 2004, and unseated one-term Republican incumbent Craig Benson (NH went blue for Kerry the same year). New Hampshire's gubernatorial terms are two years, and Lynch easily won re-election in 2006 with 74% of the vote over Republican challenger Jim Coburn (a former NH State House Representative). Lynch is a moderate Democrat, and considered one of the most popular incumbent Governors in the country (as of late 2006). Benson is not expected to challenge Lynch for his old seat, and Coburn has made no indication that he is interested in running a second time.

Although there was some speculation that Lynch might challenge Republican incumbent John Sununu for his Senate seat (see the 2008 NH-Sen Race page for more details), Lynch spokespeople have dismissed such talk, saying Lynch has "no plans" to run for Senate.

As of June 2007, Lynch is often referred to as "Mr 70 Percent" in reference to his approval rating and is considered a shoe-in for re-election in 2008.

Resources

Below you will find links to further information about New Hampshire's 2008 Gubernatorial race.

General

A map of New Hampshire
Wikipedia: NH-Gov 2006 election
Wikipedia: NH-Gov 2004 election

Lynch (Democratic incumbent)

New Hampshire Governor official website
John Lynch 2006 campaign website
Wikipedia: John Lynch

Local blogs

Blue Hampshire (NH politics group blog)
Lost Nation