Destination New Hampshire

New Hampshire, a state in which politics is the unofficial pastime, boasts competitive races in almost every major office on the ballot this year – particularly for governor, the U.S. Senate and both congressional seats.

But the coming week provides a reminder of the Granite State’s critical role as a presidential proving ground, with at least three potential candidates scheduled to visit.

Officially, each of the trips is for party building activities or to support the Republican nominee for governor, John Stephen. Unofficially, it’s one of the busiest spurts yet in the nascent campaign for the state’s first-in-the-nation primary, which is still at least 16 months away.

On Saturday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will deliver the keynote address at the New Hampshire Republican Party’s biannual state convention in Concord. Later, he’ll host a fundraiser for Stephen.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is set for a Monday morning trip to Manchester in his role as chair of the Republican Governors Assn. for another Stephen fundraiser. On Thursday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will appear at two money events for Stephen.

For Pawlenty, it’s his fourth visit. Romney, who finished second to John McCain in the 2008 primary, has been a regular presence in the state and maintains a home in Wolfeboro in the state’s lakes region.

Romney and Pawlenty have recently announced a slate of endorsements in the state. Pawlenty’s Freedom First PAC gave $1,000 to Stephen and $5,000 each to Senate nominee Kelly Ayotte, 1st District congressional candidate Frank Guinta and 2nd District candidate Charlie Bass. Two dozen more state legislative candidates got $250 apiece.

Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC also gave $1,000 to Stephen, $5,000 to Ayotte and $2,500 to each Guinta and Bass. Every Republican candidate for state Senate and the state’s Executive Council also got $1,000.

Stephen’s camp says it welcomes the support of these Republican national leaders, as well as Sen. Scott Brown, who’s scheduled for a trip the following week.

“There are certainly others who are starting to knock on our door and see if there might be some availability,” said Greg Moore, spokesman for the Stephen campaign. “We’re thrilled to have the support of so many of these national Republican figures.”

Democratic Gov. John Lynch is seeking an unprecedented fourth two-year term in November. Polls show the race could be his toughest since he narrowly defeated incumbent Craig Benson in 2004; in 2006 and 2008 he won with some of the biggest margins ever seen in the state.

Both candidates are on the air with television ads, and Stephen was competitive with Lynch in the money race, according to the most recent filings this month.

Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Assn., acknowledged the race is closer than expected, but said it was attributable more to the national environment than the “strength, or lack thereof, of Stephen’s candidacy.”

“This is a governor who has one of the highest approval ratings around the country. And Stephen is not without baggage,” Daschle said. “This is a race we’ll take seriously.”

While Stephen welcomes national Republicans, Lynch has seemed cool to the Democratic White House. He was absent when Vice President Joe Biden recently visited to promote the administration’s Recovery Act.

Biden is due to be back in the state again on Monday, for a fundraiser benefitting U.S. Senate nominee Paul Hodes and the two Democratic congressional candidates, incumbent Carol Shea-Porter and 2nd District nominee Ann McLane Kuster.

Former President Bill Clinton is also boosting state Democrats, with a fundraiser in Boston for state Senate candidates, according to the Union Leader.

mmemoli@tribune.com

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