Hodes Hits Ayotte On FRM In First Ad
Rep. Paul Hodes (D) is using his first paid advertising to take a shot at one of his leading rivals over a massive ponzi scheme that bilked NH investors while AG Kelly Ayotte (R) was in office.
Ayotte, the leading GOP contender in the race to replace retiring Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), was called to testify last week over her knowledge -- or lack thereof -- of Financial Resources Mortgage. The Meredith, NH-based firm took $80M from NH investors over a decade of operation.
Compliants were filed with Ayotte's office, but the office took no action. What's more, an open records request for Ayotte's calendar and emails related to the failed firm was refused because email records had been deleted. The current AG, Michael Delaney, has faulted his office (before he took over) and 2 other state agencies.
Now, Hodes is making the issue political, using footage of Ayotte's testimony before a state legislative panel.
"It was the biggest ponzi scheme in New Hampshire history, and 44 times Kelly Ayotte ducked responsibility and claimed she didn't know," a narrator intones, before bringing up the erased emails. Ayotte ends the ad herself: "I can't fully answer that question," she said during her testimony.
Though Ayotte faces a tough primary against businessmen Bill Binnie (R) and Jim Bender (R) and attorney Ovide Lamontagne (R), she has focused most of her fire on Hodes. Ayotte's latest ad, launched earlier this month, labels Hodes a "Washington politician."
But FRM promises to be an enduring issue in the race. Both Binnie and Lamontagne have attacked Ayotte over her testimony, and Binnie, who is partially self-funding his campaign, is likely to have the resources to put out an attack ad on the issue before the Sept. 14 primary.
Update: "Paul Hodes is desperate. He has been in Congress for four years, and instead of telling voters what he has done, or what he would do in the Senate, he's falsely attacking Kelly Ayotte," said Jeff Grappone, Ayotte's communications director. "For Paul Hodes, desperate times clearly call for desperate measures."
After the jump, see Hodes' first ad slamming Ayotte, and Ayotte's latest shot at Hodes.
Hodes' ad, "44 times":
Ayotte's ad, "Stop":