Debate Discord: District 9 Senate Race Turns Personal

There's little doubt Andy Sanborn and Lee Nyquist differ on many ideological and political issues.

Each NH District 9 Senate candidate, in fact, acknowledged that reality several times during a one-hour debate hosted by producer Kathy Benuck on her "Tell it Like it is" show on BCTV last night (see attached YouTube video to the right).

And while it came as little surprise when Nyquist, a New Boston Democrat, and Sanborn, a Bedford Republican, clashed on issues such as health care and the state budget, the debate quickly turned personal as each candidate delivered frequent jabs attacking the other's integrity and then engaged in an all-out verbal assault on one-another during the rebuttal stage of the debate.

Sanborn continuously attacked Nyquist's political allegiances and said the latter would raise taxes, citing his refusal to sign a pledge to the contrary. Sanborn also called his opponent out on alleged ethical breaches.

"We also talk about 'who are we trying to help?' I have very grave concerns ... specifically relative to an email that he sent to all his law partners, specifically saying he wanted to be a senator, solely for the reason to take care of his clients and the firm, that he wanted to become a senator to 'be an advocate within the senate' just for his companies," Sanborn said. "Quite frankly, ladies and gentlemen, it rolls me back on my heels to think that someone would show such an unabashed desire to work from the inside for a tit-for-tat. That isn't what our senate is about."

Nyquist, on the other hand, labeled Sanborn "the master of the slight of hand and darling of the Tea Party"

"Andy wants to run against a tax-and-spend liberal Democrat," said Nyquist. "Unfortunately, he doesn't have that opportunity. I am a fiscally-conservative individual and I pledge to citizens of District 9 and the voters of Bedford that I am opposed to broad-based taxes ... and it is not my goal to raise your taxes. It is my goal to balance our budget and re-prioritize within our means, and Andy Sanborn can talk about this from now until hell freezes over and he can try to utilize the slight of hand, as (90.7 FM WLMW radio host) Rich Girard accurately saw, but he will not get away with it."

Nyquist also spoke at length about his social roots in Bedford, while suggesting Sanborn may have moved to Bedford for political gain, even saying that the Republican failed to fulfill his duties as a senator of his former district when he moved to Bedford earlier this year.

"He's way behind. He doesn't understand Bedford. He doesn't understand the other 13 towns. He's been living elsewhere," said Nyquist. "He violated is fiduciary duty already to his constituents when he came down to Bedford and abandoned his most important votes in the month of June. There were 15 votes on Gov. Lynch's vetoes in June. Andy Sanborn was 0-for-15. He was absent without need. And why was he? Because he wanted to be. He didn't care that he had signed a solemn oath to represent the citizens of Henniker and many other towns."

Sanborn responded in kind.

"He said I missed a day at the legislature. I did. It's amazing to me that as an attorney, Lee Nyquist stands here and tells you the voters that he wants me to break the law," he said. "It's a legal question. I couldn't be in that legislature because it's the law. Of course, Mr. Nyquist is no stranger to playing bob-and weave with the law. We all know that the AG's office investigated him relative to improprieties over being a town moderator, the only moderator in the state that was found guilty of that type of impropriety."

Nyquist didn't respond, specifically, to Sanborn's charge, but once again reiterated his belief that the issues are being distorted by slight-of-hand tactics.

For more on the candidates, check out Election Guide and follow Bedford Patch and our daily state and local political coverage leading up to the Nov. 6 General Election. And don't forget to follow Bedford Patch on our Facebook page , Twitter feed , and sign up for our free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.