With Smith And Morse Campaign Announcements, Republicans’ Messy Primary Heats Up

Watch out — the Republican civil war is about to begin.

Just twelve hours after Londonderry Town Manager Kevin Smith all but announced a run for US Senate, Chuck Morse one-upped him by announcing that he’s snagged longtime GOP consultant David Carney to help him prepare for his own campaign.

Morse is sending a pointed message to Smith — who is likely to be the first Republican to join Don Bolduc in the GOP Senate primary next week: don’t get too comfortable.

The announcement from Morse is just the latest sign that the GOP Senate primary is going to be messy, vicious, and full of sharp elbows as candidates leapfrog over each other to see who can be the most far-right and out of touch Republican come September.

Meanwhile, Don Bolduc — the only declared candidate in the race — is already making clear that he will not play nice, repeatedly accusing the NH Republican Party of running a rigged primary and bribing local parties not to appear with him.

The bottom line? This primary — which won’t end until September 14 — is going to be vicious and will leave the Republican Party scrambling and in shambles by the time the general election starts.