Carol Shea-Porter

Representatives Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes have taken to the stage at Obama primary night HQ. "When this man becomes president, he is going to lead us with his compassion..." she said.

"He will be the next president of the United States," said Hodes. "Tonight we stand together with Barack Obama."

Four years ago, the New Hampshire State Democratic dinner had been packed for Howard Dean. Is that what happened last night for Barack Obama? One young woman at this year's dinner said it was "all Facebook"--the massive turnout of young Obama people was accomplished by poking and friending.

But New Hampshire Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter says the Obama wave last night wasn't as engineered. "It is different," she said this morning. "I think his reach is wider." For one thing, "He has both of
the Congressmen," she said, meaning herself and Paul Hodes.

Carol Shea-Porter, who was elected last year to represent the eastern half of New Hampshire in Congress, has decided to endorse Barack Obama. This is easily the most significant Granite State endorsement for Obama and one that could have a ripple effect.

Shea-Porter's political history explains why. A former social worker and a true grass-roots activist, her frustration with the Iraq war and the Bush administration led her to run for Congress last year. Immediately, she was opposed by local, state and national Democratic organizations -- including Rahm Emanuel and the D.C.C.C., which endorsed her primary opponent, the then-Democratic leader of the state House of Representatives.

More after the jump.  read more »

Returns in New Hampshire suggest an epic disaster for the Republicans. Both of the state's two GOP congressmen-- Jeb Bradley in the 1st District and Charlie Bass in the 2nd District -- are trailing. Bass is actually being trounced, though those returns are less complete. New Hampshire last sent a Democrat to the House in 1992. More to the point, Bradley's opponent, a former social worker named Carol Shea-Porter, operated on a shoe-string budget, has virtually no name recognition, and was shunned by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee-- which essentially refused to acknowledge her candidacy. The Bradley-Shea-Porter race was not in any national observer's list of the 60 most competitive races in the country. A Shea-Porter win would probably speak to a massive national tidal wave and the belated extension of the Democratic Party's Northeast dominance to New Hampshire. -- Steve Kornacki