When Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais held a press conference Wednesday to announce the latest endorsement in his reelection bid, he was only missing one thing.
A Democratic opponent.
The election is just five months away, and not only is the first-term Republican not facing a challenge from across the aisle, but there isn’t even a rumored Democrat talking about getting in the race.
(His GOP opponent, Alderman Crissy Kantor, is viewed as a longshot by most political observers.)
One reason Democrats are sitting this race out was on display at Arms Park as Ruais picked up the endorsement of the Manchester Professional Firefighters Local 856. This public-sector union usually backs Democrats — they endorsed Ruais’ opponent, Kevin Cavanaugh, two years ago and gubernatorial candidate Joyce Craig last year.
This year, they are ridin’ with Ruais.
Asked about the union’s less-than-GOP-friendly partisan history, President Chad Gamache said it wasn’t an issue. “We support those who support us,” he told NHJournal.
Based on the polls, there are quite a few working-class union members and blue-collar workers who feel the same about Republicans like Ruais.
CNN’s polling analyst Harry Enten displayed his astonishment at the disastrous decline for Democrats.
“Historically speaking, ‘Which is the party of the middle class?’ has been a huge advantage for Democrats,” Enten said on Monday as he shared the latest numbers.
In 1989, Democrats had a 23-point advantage on the “party of the middle class” question. As recently as 2016, it was +17 for Democrats. Today it’s tied.
“This, I think, speaks to Democratic ills more than anything else. They have traditionally been the party of the middle class. No more,” Enten said.
That’s particularly bad news for Democrats in a working-class city like Manchester. And it may help explain why the party has yet to put together a ticket for this November — or find a candidate for governor next year.
Asked about the absence of an opponent, Ruais wanted to talk about his record instead. He touted the budget passed overwhelmingly by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen Tuesday night. Like his school district budget, it kept spending under control, Ruais said.
“For the second year in a row, this budget comes further under the tax cap than any previous tax cap budget.”
There are other positive trends as well, as homelessness recedes from the streets and — with the help of first responders like firefighters — the rate of fentanyl overdoses and deaths continues to fall.
But it’s still Manchester — the largest city in a state that regularly sends Democrats to Congress and hasn’t backed a Republican for president since 2000. A city that just had a three-term Democrat mayor. A city Joe Biden won with 58 percent of the vote just four years ago.
And now Democrats can’t even field a candidate?
It’s important to note that Democrats will not have this problem in Portsmouth or Keene or other liberal enclaves. Liberals have never been more solidly behind the Democratic brand. Unfortunately for Democrats, there just aren’t that many liberals, even in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley would not respond to questions from NHJournal, but when he does talk about the status of his party, his only topic is the federal delegation. Like the rest of New England, New Hampshire doesn’t send Republicans to Washington, D.C.
But unlike any other state in the region, New Hampshire has a GOP trifecta at the state level. Democrats don’t appear to be trying to turn that around. As Republicans roll their agenda through the State House — no tax hikes, parental rights, banning sanctuary cities, and protecting girls’ sports — Democratic legislators continue to cast solidly liberal, but wildly unpopular, votes for far-left positions that working-class voters reject.
The result? More Democrats announced their candidacies in the open race for the 1st Congressional District on Wednesday (two) than are currently running for Manchester mayor and New Hampshire governor combined.
And the two Democrats jumping into the NH-01 primary on Wednesday aren’t likely to help slow the working-class exodus. One, Hampton school board member Carleigh Beriont, teaches at Harvard and brags about helping graduate students unionize. The other, Dover state Rep. Alice Wade, is a far-left activist who would be the first transgender member of Congress from New Hampshire.
