MANCHESTER, N.H.—To help voters identify which candidates are most likely to defend traditional values and protect the natural rights of families, Cornerstone Action is today releasing its 2012 Families First Voter Guide, a comprehensive look at Republicans running for state representative, state senator and executive office positions across New Hampshire.
Download Cornerstone’s 2012 Families First Voter Guide.
“If used as intended, Cornerstone’s 2012 Families First Voter Guide will help New Hampshire citizens choose the most conservative candidates for state representative, state senator and executive offices,” said Shannon McGinley, Cornerstone’s acting executive director. “If elected, these are the candidates who will work to advance citizens’ rights of conscience and religion, protect innocent human life, defend the natural family and traditional marriage, restore the natural rights of parents to raise, educate and care for their own children, and enact free market economic policies to ensure prosperity in New Hampshire.”
To use the 2012 Families First Voter Guide, voters will first need to match their communities or city wards with the proper House, Senate and Executive Council districts. Once they know which district or districts they live in, they can look up which candidates are running in those districts, whether those candidates signed Cornerstone’s Families First Pledge and how incumbent candidates rated on Cornerstone’s 2011-2012 Legislative Scorecard.
Importantly, the voter guide only lists 2011-2012 Legislative Scorecard scores for incumbent candidates for re-election. The scorecard was based on 39 roll call votes in the House and 20 roll call votes in the Senate from the just-completed legislative session. High scores indicate an incumbent legislator’s willingness to support Cornerstone’s legislative agenda during the past session and foreshadow how these candidates will vote upon reelection.
At least 10 incumbent Republican candidates voted with Cornerstone 100 percent of the time, and for that the organization has labeled them “Heroes of the Family.” Many other Republicans scored nearly as well, and most voted with Cornerstone at least 50 percent of the time. Notably, not one Democrat scored above 40 percent on the scorecard, and the great majority of the party voted with Cornerstone less than 30 percent of the time.
“We truly hope at least some Democrats will surprise us by recognizing the traditional values of our great state in the next session so they can receive the same recognition as some of their Republican colleagues,” McGinley said. “There’s no reason for New Hampshire’s families to be represented by only one party, and we would hope some of the Democratic Party’s conservative leaders take back their party from some of its more liberal members, and that will clearly benefit New Hampshire families.”
The 2012 Families First Voter Guide also lists the 68 Republican candidates who signed Cornerstone’s Families First Pledge. These pledge signers are the candidates who have courageously indicated their support for proven, traditional values, leaving voters with no doubts about their intentions. Notably, not one Democrat signed the Families First Pledge.
“Because of the woefully inadequate scores of the Democrats and lack of a single signed pledge, Cornerstone made the decision not to expend resources on compiling a Democrat primary voter guide for 2012,” McGinley said. “However, candidates who make it through their primaries will have another opportunity to sign Cornerstone’s Families First Pledge and the upcoming general election voter guide will include all candidates for office.
“Cornerstone hopes voters will use the 2012 Families First Voter Guide to support the candidates who have the strongest pro-family scores and who signed our Families First Pledge,” McGinley added. “We look forward to working with these candidates once they are in office to advance the policies the pledge outlines. Candidates who stay true to the pledge once serving in elected office will have the added benefit of helping to make New Hampshire the best place to live in the Northeast.”
