Republican Frank Guinta is challenging two-term Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter in New Hampshire’s 1st District, and GOP officials are touting the mayor of Manchester — the state’s biggest city — as one of their top recruits for the 2010 elections. But Guinta, whose campaign has had a bumpy start, filed an initial campaign finance report in which the numbers fell short of stellar.
Guinta reported receipts of $110,000 at the June 30 conclusion of the year’s second quarter. That included a $20,000 loan he made to his campaign from his personal accounts after he formed his campaign committee at the end of April, nearly a month into the second quarter.
While Guinta’s amount was close to the $120,000 that Shea-Porter raised during the same three-month period, the incumbent had an earlier start, and her combined total as of June 30 was $254,000 overall. Another key measure produced a similar gap, as Shea-Porter reported $211,000 remaining on hand and Guinta reported $93,000.
