DERRY, N.H. — New Hampshire Republicans elected a Tea Party figure as their leader and rejected the establishment-backed candidate, a sign that activists in this early-voting presidential state have embraced the anti-government message that helped them make major gains in November’s election.
Former gubernatorial candidate Jack Kimball edged businesswoman Juliana Bergeron in a race that pitted White House veterans against first-time voters. Kimball, who said he would “send Barack Obama packing” and elect a Republican governor in 2012, promised not to shy from a fight.
“We are in a war, and we are going to win it,” Kimball said. “We are going to pull ourselves from the brink. We are going after the Democrats the whole time.”
More than 400 members of the statewide committee voted while dozens of operatives watched to see how the Tea Party-style activists would influence the party. The outgoing chairman, John Sununu, a former chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush, urged Republicans to support Bergeron and hold off an insurgent movement in the party.
“Incumbent on you is the responsibility — not just of keeping this party together — but because every four years, the world watches because we are the most significant component in picking the president,” Sununu said.
Sununu and his allies said a Tea Party candidate could create a hostile environment for some candidates who don’t subscribe to the movement’s orthodoxy or who come from a moderate background.
Kimball sought to calm fears that he would guide the state GOP as a Tea Party.
“I am a Republican, a conservative Republican who happened to come out of the Tea Party. You’ll find the Reagan values in this guy,” he said.
