I'm willing to take that bet. And before anyone mentions Jeanne Shaheen... she is beyond safe. There is literally no Republican in NH who could even give her a scare. Shaheen is an even better fit for NH than Hassan, as crazy as it may sound LOL.
I actually won't disagree with you on this one. Jeanne Shaheen essentially built the NH Dem party in her own image, and her electoral success shows that she's a good fit for the state. I'd say she's far more in tune with, say, Rockingham and Strafford Counties than Grafton or Cheshire (also a valid model for an NH Democrat I'm eager to see tried) but she's about as safe as safe can be in a swing state.
That would be interesting to see a dem try to run with a predominantly Connecticut Valley strategy. While those towns along the River are Birkenstock Belt towns bleeding over from Vermont, I can't see Cheshire and Grafton being large enough margins to carry the whole state. Also, I have never been out there aside from Sunapee, but does anybody know why Sullivan County is much more conservative than Cheshire and Grafton? Aside from the obvious lack of Keene State and Dartmouth
Sullivan is much more in line with Coos in terms of Education/Economy/Wealth compared to Grafton, Cheshire, and Merrimack. Sullivan and Coos are more or less blue collar, poor, small town areas. Grafton, Merrimack, and to a lesser extent Cheshire all have some large University or college (Cheshire does have Antioch and Keene State College), and generally the three are just better off than Sullivan and Coos.
I know the heroin epidemic is particularly bad in Sullivan (Claremont and Newport at least).
