ABSTRACT
While 2010 was lauded as the third straight “change” election in American politics, in New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District, the agent of change was unclear. The two-term incumbent, Democrat Paul Hodes, left the seat open in pursuit of the U.S. Senate. The Democratic nominee in the 2nd District, Ann McLane Kuster, faced the challenge of presenting herself as someone who could bring about the kind of change the voters wanted, while effectively representing the party in power in Washington. Her Republican opponent, Charlie Bass, had the burden of being a familiar face to voters after serving as the district’s representative for a dozen years before being defeated by Hodes in 2006. The district, in short, was a test case as to whether the wave of 2010 was anti-incumbent, or simply anti-Democrat.1
