New Hampshire Primary Source covers breaking and behind-the-scenes news and analysis on all things political in the Granite State. John DiStaso is the most experienced political writer in New Hampshire and has been writing a weekly column since 1982.
VENUE CHOICE PROMPTS CRITICISM. Back at the helm of the state Republican Party for less than a month, chairman Wayne MacDonald is dealing with discontent in the pro-Second Amendment community.
The New Hampshire Firearms Coalition has been firing off angry emails to its supporters, blasting the NHGOP for holding a candidate training session Saturday at the Common Man Inn in Plymouth.
The rub is that the restaurant’s owner, Alex Ray, is a longtime contributor to Democratic candidates and was listed by the pro-gun control group Giffords in 2015 as a member of its “Granite State Coalition for Common Sense.”
Ray was a donor to U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter and former U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes as far back as 2010 and in 2016, was a donor to the state Democratic Party. Also that year, he “maxed out” in contributions to then-Gov. Maggie Hassan’s U.S. Senate campaign. In the meantime, he’s given to former President Barack Obama, U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
The way firearms coalition president Alan Rice sees it, the NHGOP, by holding its training session at the Common Man, is “financially supporting a gun ban extremist.”
“Alex Ray has consistently supported Democratic candidates, so even if you put the gun issue aside, why would you give your money to (New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman) Ray Buckley?” Rice said in an interview.
“Instead of donating to the Republican Party, support a Second Amendment civil rights organization, and send a copy of the check to the Republican Party and let them
