Senate Candidate Impresses Bedford Democrats [VIDEO]

Lee Nyquist is no stranger to Bedford.

He's a longtime New Boston resident and 11-term town moderator, but Nyquist, a Harvard graduate and attorney for Shaheen and Gordon, was married at .

He also has children who have competed in soccer in Bedford, where he's developed many strong personal and professional relationships.

For those reasons, it came as no surprise to many of those in attendance that Nyquist chose Bedford as the location for his first public speech as candidate for New Hampshire's District 9 Senate seat, a perch soon to be vacated by Bedford Republican Raymond White, who was in attendance at Nyquist's presentation Wednesday night.

For years, District 9 has been dominated by GOP-friendly Merrimack and Bedford voters. But with Merrimack being shuffled out with the state's , even White admitted this year's state election represents a unique opportunity for a Democratic candidate to win District 9.

Jerry Hanauer, president of the Bedford Democratic Party, agreed.

"I think we have a better shot at winning the Senate seat this term than we have for many many years in the past," "I think Lee, himself, mentioned something like 47 percent of the district is Democrat now and maybe 53 of those who declare on party or another are Republican, so it's fairly close, and I think having a person like Lee can really make up that relatively small difference and win the senate seat."

Nyquist, who focused much of his speech on divisiveness in Concord and preserving strong public education, said he hopes his moderate platform will appeal to the thousands of District 9 independent voters.

"Of course, the town of Bedford is one of 14 communities heading off in a westerly direction. There is a modest Republican advantage over Democrats, but there is an independent plurality. In other words, most of the voters in this new district are independents," he said. "I am very much a moderate person, both personally and in my political beliefs, and I think the kinds of things I talked about tonight, and which you'll find on my website, are representative of the broad middle ground of this district."

"Bedford is kind of like a second home to me," he continued, "and I'd like to trust that people's understanding of me–who I am and what I stand for–will be compelling and will make me a strong candidate, even in the Republican areas of the district."

For Bedford Democrat Jane Boyer, it's that very attitude that has earned her support.

"I like his style. He's calm, and he's reasonable and he is willing to compromise, and that's what I look for in a candidate," she said. "That's why I voted for Obama, and that's why I'll vote for Lee."

Andy Sanborn, who currently holds a Senate seat in District 15, which includes his hometown of Henniker, has announced he and his wife, state Rep. , are and he plans to run for the District 9 seat.

Others rumored to be considering a run for the office include Bedford's Kenneth Hawkins and John Cebrowski, both Republicans currently serving in the state House of Representatives.