Lamontagne, Smith Rally Republicans at Party

A party to celebrate the accomplishments of Merrimack's Republican policy-makers and the work of the town's GOP committee was also an opportunity for area Republicans to hear from two of New Hampshire's gubernatorial candidates.

Ovide Lamontagne, R-Manchester, and Kevin Smith, R-Litchfield, both spoke about their campaigns during the Merrimack Republican Committee's holiday fundraiser Tuesday evening at the .

Smith chose to keep his remarks more general, rallying attendees around the focus of retaining Republican majorities in the House, Senate and Executive Council and returning the corner office to a Republican.

“No doubt, the ideas that we're offering as Republicans and solutions we're putting forth on how to get people working again is beyond anything the Democrats are offering, especially if their names are Maggie Hassan or Jackie Cilley,” Smith said.

He said he's “bullish” on the chances of the Republican party remaining in a place of power in the state as well as in the country where he believes President Barack Obama will meet his ouster.

Lamontagne also spoke in generalities about the upcoming elections, of returning the presidency and New Hampshire governorship to Republicans, and to the importance of continuing to promote the party's platform.

He also spoke about some of the things he would do if he takes office next year.

“I'm here to tell you, if I were governor of New Hampshire, I would be telling Washington very clearly, get out of the classroom, get out of the operating room, get out of the board rooms of our businesses in our state, we'll take care of that ourselves.”

The first thing he said he would do is order the attorney general to join the lawsuit with the other states suing the federal government over “Obamacare,” and if the AG wouldn't do it, he said he would himself.

Each also spoke to the the job economy in New Hampshire and on the subject of retaining younger job seekers in the state (see video above).

Merrimack Rep. Dick Hinch said he was impressed by Lamontagne and Smith during the course of the evening, and cited the importance of putting a Republican in office when Gov. John Lynch's eight years in office comes to an end.

“We have two great candidates and maybe more in the wings,” Hinch said.

Merrimack Reps. Jeanine Notter and Lenette Peterson also spoke to the governor's race between the two Republican candidates who will vie for the nomination in next year's primary.

Notter also thought at the end of the night that either candidate would serve the state well.

“No matter which one wins, he's going to be a good conservative and good looking,” Notter said.

Peterson said she expects another candidate or two to show up in the race saying she expects given how conservative Lamontagne and Smith both are that more moderate or liberal Republicans may jump into the fold.

The gubernatorial candidates were preceded in the evening by John Stephen on behalf of Rick Perry and former

The night also played host to a straw poll that earned Mitt Romney nine votes to win. Newt Gingrich came in second with six votes, followed by Ron Paul with four, Perry with three, Rick Santorum with two, Jon Huntsman and Roemer with a vote apiece and Michele Bachmann, Fred Karger and Gary Johnson failed to score any popularity among the straw poll participants.

Hinch said he was surprised by the results of the poll, but thought it showed the diversity of the crowd, many of whom were wearing pins supporting various candidates.

“It may be that it's indicative of what's happening here in the state,” Hinch said. “There isn't a clear winner yet in New Hampshire. There is still about 60 percent of New Hampshire that's undecided, waiting for their candidate to stand out from the rest.”

GOP Committee Chairman Chris Buda said overall, he was very pleased with how the night shaped up.

“We had an excellent turnout tonight,” Buda said. “I was heartened by the number of people who came out to support our candidates for the general election and our local representatives who work so hard for us.”