Hey Kathryn, looking at those Va. returns, I thought this might perk up the Corner folks tonight.
The three-term Democratic mayor of Manchester, N.H. lost to a weak Republican challenger tonight, just three days after John Kerry made a stop in town expressly to campaign for the incumbent. The difference — 536 votes. Mayor Bob Baines was a key Kerry supporter during last year’s New Hampshire Primary, and Kerry returned the favor on Saturday, stumping for Baines at a well-publicized event. Joe Biden and Evan Bayh also campaigned for Baines in Manchester, a Democratic stronghold in New Hampshire. Baines lost to alderman Frank Guinta, a former staffer for U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley. Guinta ran almost entirely on a platform of cutting taxes. Baines has been cavalier about tax increases, and after six years apparently Manchester residents have had enough. The Guinta victory gives Manchester a Republican mayor for the first time in six years and is another indicator that southern New Hampshire, where all those Massachusetts ex-pats live, is trending more solidly Republican and anti-tax.