Newspaper columnist and radio host Jennifer Horn announced Wednesday that she is running for the Republican nomination in the 2nd district in hopes of taking on freshman Rep. Paul Hodes (D). Horn writes a weekly column for The (Nashua) Telegraph, in addition to hosting her own daily radio show.

“Two years ago, voters gave Paul Hodes a chance,” Horn said in her announcement speech. “When he was elected president of the freshman class, Paul Hodes was handed a golden opportunity to show leadership. New Hampshire voters sent Paul Hodes on a mission to change Washington. … Instead, Washington changed Paul Hodes.”

Horn joins attorney Jim Steiner in the Republican field. However, state Sen. Bob Clegg; Grant Bosse, a former aide to Sen. John Sununu (R); and Iraq War veteran Rick Perkins all are said to be considering bids, too.

The Republican winner will take on Hodes in the state’s more Democratic-leaning Congressional district, which gave the freshman Member 53 percent of the vote in 2006. Hodes defeated then-Rep. Charles Bass (R) in the district that both Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and then-Vice President Al Gore carried in 2004 and 2000, respectively.
— Shira Toeplitz