Clinton Tops Another List

It's that time of year. Presidential wannabes have been filing their FEC reports. Here are updates for candidates that have filed over the past week. As candidates file, I will post their amounts. Below is the candidate name and cash on hand (CoH). The candidates are ranked in order from most (CoH) to least.

Sen. Clinton $14, 369, 100
Mayor Rudy (PAC) $600, 850
Gov. Romney (PAC) $546, 537
Gov. Pataki (PAC) $429, 173

Senator Hillary Clinton is leading the group. However, Kerry and Bayh have totals above $10 million, but have not filed updated reports. Also, McCain's last report had him leading the GOP field with a cool $1 million.

Huckabee Adds Hurst To Team

Cliff Hurst, former chairman of the Manchester GOP, has signed up with Mike Huckabee. Hurst, will be head of Huckabee's New Hampshire operation.

Richardson Joins The Race...Or Did He

Fox News has learned that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson will run for The White House. Richardson is the former UN Ambassador and former energy secretary.

Drudge is now reporting the following:

Local news Albuquerque, NM reports Richarson is denying that he announced running for presidency; says comments were taken out of context...

A Potential Hillary Visit

The Union Leader has learned "that plans are being discussed to bring her [Clinton] to the state." Hillary would be expected to attend the "100 Club" fund-raiser. The event takes place in early February.

Bayh's Schedule

Evan Bayh will be spending this Saturday in Manchester at a party for his PAC. On Sunday, he visits the homes of Peter Burling and Molly Kelly.

Biden Celebrates Holidays With Young Dems

Joe Biden will be celebrating the Christmas season with the New Hampshire Young Democrats. The party will be taking place in Manchester at the home of Kate Vaughn.

Semprini Not Running for GOP Chairman

GOP Chairman Wayne Semprini is stepping down as head of the New Hampshire GOP. Semprini cited his hip replacement as his reason for stepping-down. Below is his is statement:

Eight months ago, I was honored to have been given the trust of the NH Republican State Committee when I was elected as Party Chairman to fill the remainder of Warren Henderson’s term. At that time, it was my full intention to serve an additional complete term of my own through January 2009. My desire was and still is to see the Republican Party grow and prosper.

I am proud of the fact that many of my initial goals have been accomplished. We are now in a stronger financial position than we have been for several years. The recent resolution of the long-standing phone jamming lawsuit has given our Party the opportunity to move forward without the daily uncertainty of potential legal ramifications.

I feel that we are poised to regroup and unite to move forward as a Party. I have looked forward to serving as Chairman during this challenging but exciting time.

However, due to recent complications resulting from my hip replacement surgery, I may be required to spend months in recovery from additional surgery. This would preclude me from giving this job the 100% commitment that I feel would be necessary to move this Party forward. As much as I would welcome the opportunity to continue to serve as Party Chairman, I must regretfully announce that due to these potential health uncertainties, I will not be seeking the Chairmanship of the Republican Party.

I look forward to working with the new Chair to assist the Party in any way possible. I will continue to serve out my term and will do everything I can to ensure a smooth transition.

Cox Opens Office, Hires Staff

GOP underdog has opened a campaign office in Manchester. The office is above the Merrimack Restaurant. The office space was most recently Jim Coburn's office. The office for Cox is located at 788 Elm St. in Manchester, above the historic Merrimack Restaurant. The Cox campaign also announced that Chris Richter is its New Hampshire Field Director. Richter served as the field director for the Coburn campaign.

The Way To Win

Mark Halperin listed three ways a presidential candidate could win in 2008.

1) Don't let your opponent get into your head
2) Don't be afraid to criticize/critique your own party
3) Use the media to destroy your opponent, or you will be destroyed by it.

Halperin also listed the six major presidential candidates. Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Barack Obama, Al Gore (if he decides to run), John McCain and Mitt Romney. Finally, Halperin said that during a speech in New York, Barack Obama called New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada...Jose Posada.

Halperin: Bloomberg Could Win

Last at St. Anselm College Mark Halperin, ABC News Political Director, suggested that Mayor Mike Bloomberg could win the presidency. He proposed two scenarios. One scenario is that Bloomberg runs as an independent and is able to spend between $500 million and $1 billion to get elected. Also, Jeb Bush could run with Bloomberg, the two are close friends. Halperin also argues that Bloomberg could be a McCain Vice-President candidate. If McCain gets elected, he would serve one-term as the "foreign policy president." Blooomberg than runs in 2012 as the "domestic policy president." In either case, Halperin does not rule out a Bloomberg run.

Obama Sells Out

The Union Leader reported that the New Hampshire Democrats have announced that their victory celebration is sold out. The party has sold all of the 1,5000 tickets that were availiable. Barack Obama will be the keynote speaker. On Sunday, Obama will be at the Frank Jones Center in Portsmouth at 10:00am and at the Center of New Hampshire at 3:30.

Pataki on Iraq

Today George Pataki hosted a lunch for NH GOP lawmakers. At the lunch, Pataki commented on the Baker/Hamilton Iraq Group findings. Pataki agreed with the commission that the number of troops embedded with Iraqi forces should increase to 10,000-20,000. Pataki said "I think that's part of making Iraqis take the lead." He added "We should have more global support, but we also should have the Iraqis themselves taking more of a leadership position. And that recommendation, assuming it means the Iraqi Army will be taking more of a lead, is what matters." Pataki also commented on the elections in New Hampshire. He said the GOP lost "...in significant part because in Washington, Republicans ended up being the party building bridges to nowhere and increasing spending instead of sticking with our core values."

Granite Staters Prepare Chili For Obama

Barack Obama told The New York Post, "Every year I go to Hawaii. I take my family, and we visit my mother and sister. It's our ritual. And I pitch in on the cooking. I'm pretty good on the cooking. Like I'll do chicken, but my specialty is a mean chili." Perhaps, New Hampshire Dems should make the Senator a bowl of chili. Kathy Sullivan could present it to him. I'm just throwing it out there.

Kucinich Thinking About It

Word on Capitol Hill is that Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)might make another run at the Oval Office. Kucinich released the following statement:

"There is much speculation and rumors about my plans for 2008. Shortly, I
will make my intentions known. In the meantime, I am going to continue to
challenge the Administration and Congress to cut off the funds for the war,
bring all our troops home and end the grave misadventure in Iraq."

Clinton Tips Her Toe In The Water

Rumors have it that Hillary Clinton has picked a campaign manager. Her campaign manager will be Patti Solis Doyle. Solis Doyle has been a longtime adviser to Mrs. Clinton. Team Clinton has also signed up Jonathan Mantz, as finance director and Phil Singer as communications strategist. Finally, the Clintons will be hosting about a dozen Iowan activists for dinner at the D.C. home.

Romney Adds More Meat To The Bones

The Washington Post is reporting Matt Rhoades has signed up with Team Romney. Rhoades is the former research director of the RNC and Bush/Cheney. Rhoades "has a direct line to Matt Drudge". It is expected that will be working in the communications department of the Romney campaign.

Rudy Begins Raising Money

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will host the first fundraiser for his exploratory committee. The fundraiser is taking place in the Big Apple on December 19th, and is expected to be filled with Wall Street supporters. Also, Sandra Pack, former Bush-Cheney CFO is leaving her post at the Treasury Department to sign-up with Rudy.

Hillary Graps Hicks

The Union Leader is reporting that activist Karen Hicks is joining Hillary's campaign staff. Hicks is currently at Harvard, but ran Dean's NH 2004 campaign. Also, the Clinton staff has been making phone calls to various New Hamshire powerplayers, including Governor John Lynch.

Halperin Goes on Tour

Mark Halperin, Political Director of ABC News, will be at the NHIOP at St. Anselm College. The event will take place tonight at 7:00. Halperin's recently wrote the book, The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008. The event is free and open to the public.

Brownback: Culture Conservative

Kansas Republican Senator, Sam Brownback, has decided to run for the Republican presidential nomination. He said, "I have decided, after much prayerful consideration, to consider a bid for the Republican nomination for the presidency. There is a real need in our country to rebuild the family and renew our culture and there is a need for genuine conservatism and real compassion in the national discussion." There is doubt that Brownback fills the conservative void. However, it is unclear whether he can compete with Rudy, McCain and Romney.

Biden Returns To State

Joe Biden will be back in the state. He will be a special guest the Merrimack County Holiday Party. The event will be taking place on Saturday, December 16th.

Obamamania Grips Granite State

Barack Obama has added another stop to his New Hampshire tour. In addition to his visit to the "Victory 2006" dinner, Obama will also be doing a book signing. The signing will take place at Frank Jones Center in Porstmouth at 11am. Be sure to arrive early, because the bookstore is expecting a large crowd. Just six days till Obama takes New Hampshire by storm. Can you feel the excitement?

Brownback To File

The Note is reporting that Kansas Senator Sam Brownback "is expected to file a presidential exploratory committee." The announcement could come sometime today. So far, Brownback has visited the state twice. Both visits were to colleges in Manchester, one was to St. Anselm College the other to Southern New Hampshire University.

Daschle Bows Out

Former South Dakota Senator, and Senate leader, Tom Daschle has decided not to persue a presidential run. A senior advisor told CNN, "After many months of looking at a possible run for the presidency, he has decided not to seek that office in 2008. It is a very daunting and difficult process."

Pataki Serves Up Lunch

George Pataki will be in the state on Wednesday. In advance of the swearing-in ceremony in Concord, Pataki will be hosting GOP legislatures in the State House cafeteria. However, Alicia Preston told The Union Leader, "We're not putting up barricades or anything like that. It's going to be loose and fluid and if anyone wants to stop by, that'll be fine." Will the Dems outnumber the GOP at the lunch??