Political Wire

Members should sign in for the full experience.

Guinta’s Mother Contradicts His Money Claim

By 16 Comments

Rep. Frank Guinta’s (R-NH) mother contradicted his claim that $355,000 given to his 2010 campaign was his own money, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.

“There is no evidence to support the ‘family pot defense,’ a theory he put forward claiming legal title to money in an account held solely in his parents’ names, according to FEC documents. The documents detail a $1 million fund belonging to his parents he could tap to help pay for expenses — including his mayoral campaign in Manchester, credit card bills and mortgages. But federal investigators said he had no legal right to the money. For years, Guinta has maintained the money did not belong to his parents. His mother, Virginia Guinta, told the FEC that she understood the funds were loans that would be repaid.”

Lawmaker Admits He Took Illegal Gift

By 25 Comments

Rep. Frank Guinta (R-NH) “has apologized without admitting significant wrongdoing after the Federal Election Commission concluded he broke the law by accepting campaign donations from his parents,” the AP reports.

“In 2010, Guinta reported lending himself $355,000 and amended a disclosure form to add a previously unreported bank account… Over the years, Guinta flatly denied the money came from his parents or that it was an illegal campaign donation… But in an agreement made public last week, the FEC concluded that the money came from his parents’ bank accounts and fined him $15,000.”

Boston Globe: “If he resigns, it would trigger a special election for the US House amid the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary. If Guinta seeks reelection, he would very likely face a nasty primary fight and general election… If he decides not to run again, another Republican could run — and former Massachusetts US Senator Scott Brown just tweeted a picture of his new condo from Guinta’s district.”


You're reading the free version of Political Wire

Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.

Upgrade Now



Second Time as Freshmen

By 5 Comments

National Journal: “Like other newly elected members of Congress, Reps. Frank Guinta of New Hampshire and Robert Dold of Illinois have come to Washington early this month for orientation. But the litany of instructions for setting up a new congressional office may be less dizzying for the pair of Republicans—they’re freshmen for the second time.”

“Both Guinta and Dold first came to Washington after the 2010 elections as part of the Republican class that took back the House of Representatives that year. But they lost their reelection attempts in 2012 before launching successful comebacks in 2014, effectively riding two Republican waves into office.”

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]And there’s a good chance they could lose again in 2016.[/speech_bubble]

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.