Oct. 21, 2002 -- The battle in New Hampshire between Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen and Republican U.S. Rep. John Sununu for a U.S. Senate seat has lived up to pundits' expectations for a close race that could prove pivotal in deciding whether Democrats keep control of the Senate.

The race pits Shaheen, a three-term New Hampshire governor and the first woman ever to be elected to the post, against Sununu, a three-term congressman who bested incumbent Sen. Bob Smith for the GOP nomination in a highly publicized primary.

The Cook Political Report, like many other political observers, deemed the race a toss up after the September primary. Sununu's challenge against Smith, a track Republican leaders quietly encouraged him to take, according to media reports, may ultimately prove to be a more of a hindrance than a battle call.

Shaheen quickly appealed to Smith supporters in the days after the difficult primary, and for his part Smith has done little to rally his supporters behind Sununu.

In fact, many Smith supporters have mounted a write-in campaign for the candidate, a move Smith has refused to publicly discourage. "If 20,000 or 30,000 disgruntled Smith supporters sit out the election - or cast write-in ballots for Smith or stick their finger in our eye by voting for Shaheen - that could make the difference in a close election like this," a Republican party source told The Washington Times in October.

Early polls indicated a slight advantage for Sununu. A Greenberg, Quinlan and Rosner poll conducted in mid-September for the New Hampshire Democratic Party found Sununu leading Shaheen by a slim 46 to 43 percent.

But a University of New Hampshire poll conducted during the second week of October and sponsored by WMUR-TV showed Shaheen moving ahead of Sununu by a slim margin. In a survey of 650 likely voters, 47 percent supported Shaheen while 44 percent supported Sununu, with another three percent favoring independent candidates and six percent undecided. The poll had a margin of sampling error of four percent.

Shaheen and Sununu have clashed in recent debates over broad issues of social security, taxes and energy policy. In the light of their familiarity to voters, the two have also tried vehemently to portray themselves as the candidate best suited to represent the interests of the people of New Hampshire.

"For the last six months, John Sununu has said over and over again that he has never done anything in office that was not in the best interests of the Republican party," Shaheen told supporters in the wake of the September primary according to the Concord Monitor."Well let me tell you, John, this election isn't about what's good for the Republican Party or what's good for the Democratic Party-- it's about what's good for the people of New Hampshire."

Shaheen is clearly driving the better-financed campaign. According to their June 30 FEC filings, Shaheen had approximately $1.5 million in the bank, while Sununu had some $965,000. But Sununu has said that he's not worried about his campaign war chest, telling the Foster's Daily Democrat that raising money in such an important general election won't be a problem.

President Bush visited the Granite State in early October to help raise funds for Sununu's camp. About 800 Republicans paid $250 each to hear the president speak in support of Sununu and urge the state's GOP to "turn out the vote."

"You need to go to your churches, synagogues, mosques, or any other place of worship or your community center - and you need tell everybody in New Hampshire - Republican, Democrat or independent - that John needs to be the United States senator," President Bush told the crowd according to the Manchester Union Leader.

In recent weeks, Sununu has gone on the offensive over liberal groups funding Shaheen's campaign ads, trying to turn the tables on Shaheen's accusations that Sununu favors big business interests over corporate accountability.

"It's a case of Jeanne Shaheen supporters coming clean with where she really is," Sununu said of Shaheen's media campaign, according to the Union Leader. "She is opposed to small businesses. She and her special interest supporters even oppose reducing paperwork for small businesses."

Shaheen and Sununu are scheduled to meet in their next debate on Friday, Oct. 25.