House Majority Floor Leader Joe Sweeney, a potential GOP candidate for Congress himself, put it well.

“It’s been a pretty busy year this week in N.H.,” Sweeney posted on X.

In successive weeks, a safe Democrat (Annie Kuster) decided to give up her seat in Congress, followed by a safe Republican, Ted Gatsas, who said he’ll leave the Executive Council at the end of this year.

Who’s next?

The presidential race in swing-state New Hampshire will dominate the landscape, followed by the open race for governor to replace Chris Sununu.

These other moves already are sparking even more candidate and activist energy in both parties.

As we have often seen, down-ballot races can drive voter interest and spark more competition.

The Executive Council seat Gatsas will leave this fall is a good example.

Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen of Manchester will be the front-runner for the GOP nomination if he jumps in.

Stephen hasn’t been on the ballot in 14 years, since he lost a competitive race for governor to Democratic incumbent John Lynch. Stephen has also run for Congress in the 1st Congressional District.

Other conservative Republicans are likely to jump in, following GOP Vice Chairman Ryan Terrell of Lee and Bob Burns of Manchester, who already have.

The good news for Democrats is while the district is GOP-leaning, it’s still winnable by the “right” Democratic candidate.

The redistricting bill Sununu signed in 2021 made a few changes, dropping the Dem-friendly suburb of Bow from the district while adding the more Republican towns of Barnstead and Strafford.

According to the latest voter registrations, Democrats lost about 300 votes, while Republicans picked up 600, not the seismic shift seen in the districts of Sen. Joe Kenney, R-Wakefield, and Dave Wheeler, R-Milford, which got far redder after lines were redrawn.

Hell Week is here

The New Hampshire Legislature’s version of Hell Week arrives with the House and Senate required to complete all their own bills by Thursday.

The whole process is less stressful in a non-budget year like this one.

The state’s spending plan adds to the amount of intrigue and the potential for gamesmanship in both chambers.

The House and Senate each are putting their stamps on bail reform measures.

It will be worth watching for any slippage in House support for the latest edition of legislation to legalize recreational marijuana sales.

There’s no doubt it will pass.

The winning margin could be critical, though, as House Republican and Democratic leaders are set to pass a bill that Senate supporters of the cause say will be dead on arrival.

In the coming weeks we’ll see if the Senate decides to push forward with its own competing proposal or decide this fight is once again not worth pursuing in the upper chamber.

The House session will include the annual Tartan Day ceremonies, as well as an address from Kim Jae-hui, consul general of the South Korea.

In hopes of stepping up the pace and keeping members close at hand, House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, has instituted a 60-second time limit.

This gives wayward lawmakers a minute to get back into the chamber to cast votes or the doors are locked.

Gatsas: It’s not the same

Retiring Executive Councilor Gatsas longs for the days when politics were not as nasty and irreverent.

That’s part of why he decided this was a good year to ride off.

“Nobody talks to anyone, and the idea of getting together on an issue is almost unthinkable,” Gatsas said. “I’m not a fan of where I see our politics going. Hopefully it’s a cycle and it will get better (but) I don’t think that is happening any time soon.”

Consider the current debate over education funding. The House Finance Committee recently pulled the plug on a plan by state Rep. Tracy Emerick, R-Hampton, to dramatically increase the statewide property tax and combine it with a cap on all school spending at the local level.

Instead, House budget writers are sending to the full body next week a twin bill that makes upgrades to the existing education aid formula, much of it targeted to property- and income-poor communities.

The spreadsheets look a lot like a 2024 version of the “Gatsas education funding plan” he pushed through the Senate in the mid-2000s, which didn’t make it to the finish line.

Has anyone in either party reached out to Gatsas for his input on the issue? Nope.

“I’m here if anyone wants to talk about the issue. There are still ways you can improve the school funding formula and not necessarily break the bank,” Gatsas said.

Even after he retires, count on Gatsas to continue to bird-dog the Exit 4A project on Interstate 93.

Transportation Commissioner Bill Cass said his agency intends to advertise in the coming weeks for contracts for the second phase of this three-stage project.

“There are even bigger development plans in the works for that whole area,” Gatsas said.

Along with his wife, Cassandra, and brother, Michael, Gatsas gave a shoutout to those who have worked as office and political aides during his tenure, including Samantha Piatt, Craig Annis, (state Rep.) Ross Berry, Vicki Ferraro, and BJ and Carrie Perry.

“I am so proud of what we have accomplished. I couldn’t have done it without you,” he said.

State Senate possibles

There should be plenty of potential candidates for 15th Senate District if incumbent Becky Whitley follows through and ends up running to succeed Kuster.

For Whitley, this is all about the Benjamins.

She’s got the liberal bona fides to build a good network of activists and mount a competitive campaign.

The question is whether she can raise the money it will take to knock off former Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern of Concord in the primary.

She’s already been to Washington once since Kuster made her announcement.

One thing about Whitley — when she goes after something, she’s tenacious.

Many female Democratic activists were looking for a strong woman to step forward and run to replace Kuster.

Quite a few also suspect that Van Ostern might have gotten a heads-up from Kuster about her plans. The two go back together to her first campaigns for Congress.

This field is likely not fully set yet.

Her Senate district, which includes Concord, Bow and Hopkinton, is one of the bluest in the state.

Former U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes ran for it and lost to Whitley in a 2020 primary.

Other Concord-area Democrats who could be in the mix include Kass Ardinger, who has run for the seat twice; House Speaker Emeritus Steve Shurtleff of Penacook; an active group of local reps from the capital city including Mary Jane Wallner, Connie Lane, Kris Schultz and Rebecca McWilliams, as well as Reps. Angela Brennan of Bow and Reps. David Luneau and Mel Myler of Hopkinton.

Former Concord Mayor Jim Bouley could step right in, but that would require him to leave his successful lobbying practice.

Running away from home

There’s a lot of buzz about a potential 2nd District Democratic primary bid by Maggie Goodlander who has a long legal resume.

Goodlander, 37, has been speaking to activists as she considers a campaign.

Goodlander has a prominent post in the U.S. Justice Department under Attorney General Merrick Garland. She is married to Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to President Joe Biden.

She doesn’t live in Kuster’s district. The couple own a home assessed at $2.2 million in Portsmouth in the 1st District.

Candidates are not required to live in the congressional district they are running to represent.

In 2018, Levi Sanders, son of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, ran in the 1st District though he lived in the 2nd District near the Vermont border.

Bill and Hillary Clinton attended the power couple’s wedding, as did 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota.

Her parents are Ted Goodlander and Betty Tamposi, who ran as a Republican for the same congressional seat in 2018.

Goodlander clearly could raise the money to mount a competitive campaign.

She would have to resign her federal job to run and Sullivan would be limited by what he could do on her behalf.

Who else is in, out

The 2nd CD GOP primary is even more wide open after 2022 nominee Burns declined a run for the Capitol to go for Gatsas’s seat.

2022 Senate candidate Vikram Mansharamani appears closer to getting into the race.

Another possibility to surface has been first-term state Sen. Carrie Gendreau, R-Littleton.

She’s made no announcement, but some party activists believe Gendreau may decide not to seek her Senate seat this fall.

Strength in numbers

All this activity will have candidates creating tag teams, hoping to piggyback on their own organizations.

This doesn’t mean they will endorse one another, which is generally not a good idea if you’re running in a contested primary.

A good example is Melanie Levesque, the former Democratic state senator from Brookline, who jumped into the Fifth Council District primary in hopes of unseating GOP incumbent Wheeler.

Nashua Alderman-at-Large Shoshanna Kelly had already announced she would again run in the primary; Kelly lost to Wheeler in the 2022 general by about 5,500 votes.

Levesque had already signed on in support of Van Ostern’s congressional bid.

The two have a lot of history together; both ran for secretary of state, Van Ostern losing to Bill Gardner after the 2018 election, Levesque losing to David Scanlan when he won a full term after the 2022 race.

Strand to jump in

Before Gatsas jumped out, Bedford Town Councilor Michael Strand already was hard at work building an organization to challenge him.

Strand has his campaign launch Tuesday at The Birch on Elm in Manchester.

He already had attracted some endorsements, including 2022 nominee for governor Tom Sherman of Rye, Bill Shaheen, former Executive Council Democratic nominee and Manchester businessman Gray Chynoweth and retired school Superintendent Peter Dolloff.

It will be interesting how quickly Manchester School Board Vice Chairman Jim O’Connell is able to attract supporters to his Democratic campaign.

O’Connell has some savvy Democratic consultants helping him out.

Big Craig endorsement

Former U.S Rep. and Ambassador to Denmark Dick Swett is backing former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig’s Democratic campaign for governor.

“I have known Joyce Craig for many years and it is clear to me that she is the best person and strongest candidate we have to win back the governor’s office. During her time as the chief executive of New Hampshire’s largest city, Joyce has proven she has the dedication, strength, and skill set to bring people together to deliver for Granite Staters,” Swett said.

Swett’s wife, Katrina Lantos Swett, a former Democratic nominee to the same 2nd District seat, is also on board.

”Joyce Craig is part of a remarkable tradition of outstanding women leaders that New Hampshire is famous for,” said Katrina, who heads the foundation of her late father, California lawmaker Tom Lantos.

Earlier this past week, Craig received the backing of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Organized labor is split on the primary candidates. Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington has her share of labor backers, led by the State Employees Association of New Hampshire.

Prescott hires up

First Congressional District candidate Russell Prescott of Kingston has hired two campaign staffers for his 2024 bid, both of whom worked on Vivek Ramaswamy’s presidential campaign in the state.

Zachary Letourneau will be Prescott’s campaign manager. He was Ramaswamy’s deputy state director.

A New Hampshire native, Letourneau worked on several county sheriff races before joining Ramaswamy’s effort in 2023.

Caleb Labbe, another Ramaswamy campaign alum, will be Prescott’s deputy campaign manager.

They join a team led by Ascent Strategic partners Derek Dufresne and Mike Biundo, who are general consultants; The Strategy Group Co., which is handling paid media; pollster Cygnal; Politicoin, the digital and text messaging fundraiser; and Andrew Theodore, a PAC fundraiser.

“They both bring invaluable knowledge and experience to the table, and we look forward to working hard to help Russell Prescott cross the finish line and defeat Congressman Chris Pappas this fall,” Dufresne said of the two hires.

Biden expands in NH

Since the president visited New Hampshire last month, the Biden-Harris campaign has opened offices in Concord, Exeter and Laconia, with plans to add others later in April.

All told, they have hired 20 staff, opened six offices and hosted 23 events.

The campaign organized phone banks to make more than 7,500 calls and help defeat articles in 22 towns that sought to remove automatic ballot-counting machines.

Voters rejected all those proposals.

“While Donald Trump’s campaign is cash-strapped and has no public plans to invest in New Hampshire, the 2024 N.H. Democratic Coordinated Campaign is rapidly building a robust infrastructure and battle-tested team to reach Granite Staters in every corner of the state,” said Biden-Harris state campaign spokesperson Marisa Nahem.

State GOP officials insist Trump remains committed to New Hampshire and point to Biden’s challenging poll numbers, especially among independent voters.

Vet courts move ahead

The House votes this week on legislation (HB 1589) to create veterans courts to hear cases involving those who have served in the military.

Rep. Dan McGuire, R-Epsom, said that if approved, the program would start slowly, serving up to 40 veterans in the first year. The state will offer operational reimbursement of $5,000 per case to encourage courts to set up the program. The bill envisions hiring a judicial administrator to coordinate it.

The original bill called for annual spending of $2 million.

Digital ballot debate

The House Finance Committee split, 13-12, along partisan lines to recommend legislation (HB 1577) permitting any voter to request a digital image of their cast ballot to confirm it had been counted. This bill allows the public to view all digital images of ballots that use this technology.

If an investigation were to uncover errors, the Ballot Law Commission would have the power to disqualify future use of that voting machine and the contract for the vendor who programmed it.

House Democrats pointed out that Secretary of State Scanlan’s office opposed the bill during a public hearing.