2006 New Member Profiles
New Hampshire's Second District: Paul Hodes (D)

The Almanac of American Politics
© National Journal Group Inc.

Paul Hodes
Born:	March 21, 1951
Family:	Wife, Peggo; two children
Religion:	Jewish
Education:	Dartmouth College, A.B. 1972; Boston College, J.D. 1978
Career:	State assistant attorney general; prosecutor; lawyer; musician
Elected  Office:	None

Two years after losing by 20 percentage points to Republican Rep. Charles Bass, Paul Hodes rode a wave of dissatisfaction over the Iraq war to win in New Hampshire's Democratic-leaning 2nd District.

A lawyer who was hired fresh out of law school by then-New Hampshire Attorney General David Souter, Hodes was a state prosecutor before going into private practice in Concord. His personal interests are wide-ranging: He and his wife, Peggo, founded Peggosus, a children's rock group whose repertoire includes the songs "If My School Was a Zoo" and "Cheerios in My Kazoo." In 1996, President Clinton invited the duo to perform at the White House. Hodes also wrote the book and lyrics for The People's House, a political musical that premiered in 2001.

In 2004, after spending $100,000 of his own money on a campaign dubbed the "Rock 'n' Roll Back the Deficit Tour," Hodes lost to Bass in a blowout, 58 percent to 38 percent -- the incumbent's highest-ever margin of victory. This year, however, Bass faced a much more hostile political environment and a candidate who had learned from his mistakes. Hodes was better funded this time -- through mid-October he raised $1.2 million to the incumbent's $1 million -- and he had far more support from the national party. He was unopposed in the September 12 Democratic primary.

Bass claimed he was an "independent voice for New Hampshire," in an attempt to distance himself from the unpopular Republican congressional leadership and the Bush administration. The claim was not entirely unfounded: In January 2006, Bass helped launch the petition for new House GOP leadership elections that prompted former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, to relinquish any plans to retake his post. Bass also cast maverick votes against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and against the same-sex marriage ban.

Hodes nevertheless sought to tie his opponent to President Bush, calling for a "new course for this country" -- a play on Bush's "stay the course" rhetoric. National Democrats accused Bass of standing "toe-to-toe with [the president] on the war."

Bass didn't appear to be vulnerable until late in the campaign. As his polling lead started to fade, both national parties took an interest in the race and began pouring in money. The National Republican Congressional Committee spent at least $365,000 on television ads charging that "liberal Paul Hodes wants to raise taxes." The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee returned fire by pumping more than $1 million into ads accusing Bass of voting to raise his own salary and to increase the national debt.