NH AG: Mowers Didn’t Break State Law by Voting In Two 2016 Primaries – NH Journal

The New Hampshire Lawyer Normal’s Workplace has concluded GOP congressional candidate Matt Mowers didn’t break any state legal guidelines when he voted in each the First within the Nation major and the New Jersey major in 2016.

“We conclude that you simply didn’t commit any New Hampshire election legislation violations,” Deputy Normal Counsel Myles Matteson wrote in a letter to Mowers. “We additionally conclude that your 2016 votes within the presidential primaries in New Hampshire and New Jersey don’t represent a violation of New Hampshire election legislation.

“This matter is closed.”

The controversy started when the Related Press reported final month Mowers voted twice through the 2016 major season. Whereas working for Gov. Chris Christie within the #FITN major in February, Mowers voted in New Hampshire. When Christie dropped out of the race, Mowers moved to New Jersey and commenced working for the Trump marketing campaign. Whereas there, he legally registered and voted within the Backyard State’s presidential major.

“This report confirmed what I’ve stated all alongside, this was nothing greater than a partisan witch hunt that is a humiliation for the Democrat machine and my major opponents that co-orchestrated this baseless assault,” Mowers stated in an announcement. “I want to thank the Workplace of the Lawyer Normal for his or her diligent work on this. Because the report concluded, this matter is closed. I stay up for persevering with to marketing campaign throughout the district and restoring New Hampshire’s voice in Congress.”

For his opponents within the First District GOP major, nevertheless, the matter is much from closed.

“It’s disturbing to see somebody claiming to be a pacesetter in our celebration gleefully rubbing in voters’ faces that they bought away with voting twice in the identical election. That’s what the Democrats do,” a spokesperson for the Gail Huff Brown marketing campaign stated in response to the information. “What Matt Mowers did is precisely the kind of loophole election fraud President Donald Trump and the Republican Get together have been combating to alter since Election Day 2020.

“New Hampshire Republicans deserve a candidate who can credibly combat for election integrity.”

And several other NHGOP activists who’ve supported Mowers prior to now say they refuse to again him over the voting concern.

“I’m achieved with Mowers. I gained’t vote for him, not after what he did,” one longtime GOP grassroots activist advised NHJournal. “We’ve got to have the election integrity concern to win.”

Different Republicans advised NHJournal the official letter resolved the problem.

“The report from the legal professional common places it to mattress as a problem,” stated Republican Nationwide Committeeman Chris Ager. “Now we will concentrate on which of our nice Republican candidates can finest signify the First District and change our ineffective follower of Nancy Pelosi.”

Mowers has constantly polled because the entrance runner within the major, and he has the benefit of being each a suitable candidate amongst conventional Republicans and an ally of Trump — who endorsed him within the 2020 race.

Nonetheless, the voting concern creates a possible opening to strip away a number of the extra MAGA voters who’re notably centered on poll safety points. Each state Rep. Tim Baxter (R-Seabrook) and former White Home communications staffer Karoline Leavitt have been working exhausting in what President Joe Biden would possibly name the “Uber MAGA” lane, and so they each known as out Mowers when the story first broke.

However with out an precise Trump endorsement — and rumors are flying that Leavitt is working exhausting to make that occur — will the rest be sufficient to maneuver major voters away from a Trump-allied candidate with excessive identify ID who many Republican major voters have already voted for as soon as? Is Mowers’ odd-but-not-illegal voting sufficient?

Mowers ally Thomas Colantuono, former U.S. Lawyer for the District of New Hampshire says no.

“The New Hampshire legal professional common cleared Matt of any wrongdoing and closed the door on these false allegations. As a former U.S. Lawyer, it’s my opinion that no federal legislation was violated and people suggesting in any other case are simply taking part in politics.”