Advertisement NH Primary Source: Analysts say Lewandowski’s battle with Democrats plays well with pro-Trump base Lewandowski testimony resonating from Washington to NH

Share Shares Copy Link Copy

COREY VS. THE DEMOCRATS. Whether they meant to or not, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee Democrats provided Corey Lewandowski with a perfect venue for launching his U.S. Senate candidacy on Tuesday.That’s the assessment of several New Hampshire political analysts, not all of whom are fans of the former Donald Trump campaign manager. They say he further endeared himself to the pro-Trump Republican base in the Granite State but may have alienated moderate Republican and independent voters he would need to defeat Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen should he win the GOP primary a year from now.Veteran political guru Tom Rath credited Lewandowski with making the most of the national attention and described the committee's Democrats as clueless regarding what they were getting into when they decided to bring Lewandowski before them.Rath said that among the Republicans running for the Senate seat, “Corey’s argument has been that he would be the guy who is most loyal to Donald Trump, and this underscored that.”But at the same time, Rath said, “I think he left himself open to the charge that Jeanne Shaheen will make. She can say, ‘I know who my masters are. They are the voters, not Donald Trump.’”“The testimony may make Corey invincible in a Republican primary, but he may win the battle but lose the war. It was a perfect performance for the base, equal strands of loyalty to the president and arrogance. There was fodder there for plenty of television ads on both sides,” Rath said. Rath said he was surprised that House Judiciary Chair Jerrold Nadler “was naive enough to play into his hands. The big loser was the committee. I still don’t know what the point was in having him there. “It was very ill-advised,” Rath said. “Corey should write them a ‘thank you’ note.“The average person who watched that saw someone defiant, someone who didn’t show respect for that committee, and that’s what he intended,” said Wayne Lesperance, a politics professor at New England College. “If he runs for the Senate, then he did everything he could do to ensure that he will receive the president’s support and the support of people who are Trump supporters. It was expertly done for that population.”Another GOP strategist who asked not to be named said Lewandowski, even before officially becoming a candidate, “has shut off the Trump lane in this primary race."The option for potential primary foes Gen. Donald Bolduc, former House Speaker Bill O’Brien and attorney Corky Messner is to “find a lane to differentiate yourself from Corey. He is going to suck all the oxygen out of the room and their problem is finding a way to get into the news cycle. “The people who like Trump and like that aggressive tone loved his testimony,” the strategist said. “At some point as this campaign evolves, he’ll have to find a way to move himself into a more balanced discussion about the issues.”Longtime GOP strategist Jim Merrill agreed that Lewandowski is appealing to the pro-Trump Republican base and his more than six hours of dominating the cable news networks were “an enormous victory” for him and “catnip to primary voters”But, Merrill said, “It doesn’t help us in the general election to have essentially two Donald Trumps on the ticket. “Corey Lewandowski knew exactly what he was doing and the House Democrats had no idea, and it showed. He came in with a game plan, and they didn’t.”“We need to focus on electability and need to have someone who can build a coalition beyond Trump to help the president and the Senate candidate win the general election,” said David Carney, who was political affairs director in the George H.W. Bush White House.“To help President Trump in New Hampshire, we need more votes. We need to figure out how to get independents and soft Republicans to vote for us. It’s about math.”But 2018 U.S. House candidate Bob Burns, a solid Trump supporter, disagreed. “I don’t think what he does hurts him with independents and even moderate Democrats. Even they are getting tired of the witch hunts from Jerry Nadler. It’s the same broken record and Corey had every right to be short and frank with these people. They have nothing to stand on.”Democrats, meanwhile, focused on Lewandowski’s virtual admission during the hearing that he lied to the progressive media outlet MSNBC in an interview in May. Lewandowski said in the interview that he could not remember if he had been asked by Trump “get involved with (former Attorney General) Jeff Sessions or the Department of Justice in any way, shape or form.”But Lewandowski confirmed during the hearing that – as former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report stated -- Trump had in fact asked him to tell Sessions to “un-recuse” himself from the Russia investigation and Mueller to limit the scope of the investigation.“I have no obligation to be honest with the media because they’re just as dishonest as anybody else,” Lewandowski said during the hearing, answering questions posed by the Democratic majority’s attorney. “I have no obligation to have a candid conversation with the media whatsoever, just like they have no obligation to cover me honestly. They do it inaccurately all the time,” he said.“So, you are admitting that on national television, that you were lying there?” the attorney, Barry Berke, asked.“What I’m saying is they’ve been inaccurate on many occasions and perhaps I was inaccurate that time,” Lewandowski said.The state Democratic Party wasted no time sending a transcript and video of the exchange between Lewandowski and Berke to the New Hampshire media.“Corey Lewandowski told New Hampshire voters that he is a liar," said NHDP spokesman Josh Marcus-Blank. "This hearing made it clear that Lewandowski answers only to Trump, not New Hampshire, and Granite Staters can't trust a word he says." In Washington, meanwhile, Democrats on Wednesday delivered a cake to Lewandowski’s office in mock celebration of his 46th birthday. “I have no obligation to be honest,” was written on the cake, along with the Twitter hashtag, #LiarLewandowski.But by the time the cake was delivered, Lewandowski had left for the day. He was on his way home to New Hampshire and flew back on the same plan as his old friend and likely Republican Senate primary foe O’Brien.