John DiStaso, the New Hampshire Union Leader's senior political writer, began writing "Granite Status" in 1982. His influential reports on behind-the-scenes politics in the first-primary state are must reading every Thursday for insiders from Concord to Washington, D.C. Watch for "Granite Status" updates on UnionLeader.com whenever New Hampshire political news breaks.

WEDNESDAY UPDATE. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter is trying to parlay what she calls “attacks” against her by FoxNews and conservative groups into campaign dollars.

“Help me fight the Fox News attack!” is the headline on her most recent fund-raising e-mail to backers.

Shea-Porter writes, “I have Fox News, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the NH GOP, the Tea Party protesters, the Birthers, the Deathers, Glenn Beck’s 9/12ers, the Tenthers and the Susan B. Anthony anti-choice group attacking me to name just a few.

“They have shouted at town halls and on radio interviews, and are writing ugly untrue letters.”

She asks for “your financial help to fight back.”

Look for more on this fund-raising appeal -- and news on a possible new GOP candidate for high office -- in tomorrow's "Granite Status" column.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: "Team Sununu 2014. Ready to go!"

That’s the wording of an ad in the program for Wednesday night’s fund-raiser for the House Republican Victory Committee, honoring former Sen. John E. Sununu.

The program was filled with ads by law firms, lobbyists, New Hampshire candidates and potential candidates such as Kelly Ayotte, Ovide Lamontagne, Sean Mahoney, as well as former and perhaps future presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

But the most talked-about ad was by Team Sununu.

But before anyone gets too excited, don’t.

A close associate of Sununu and his 2008 former campaign said that while the ad was purchased by Team Sununu, the 2014 reference “was meant to be a fun thing and there is nothing to be read into it. It was something fun done by some very enthusiastic Sununu supporters. All in the spirit of the evening.”

And in the spirit of getting noticed, apparently.

About 200 people attended the event at the Grappone Center in Concord.

COLIN RETURNS. After a year on hiatus from political life, one of the state's bright young Democratic stars is back in the game.

Colin Van Ostern said yesterday he is now 2nd District U.S. House candidate Ann McLane Kuster's campaign manager. He'll go full-time on Oct. 1.

Van Ostern, 30, last year headed the state Democratic Party's coordinated campaign, a key component of the most successful Democratic election in history.

Since then he has been at Dartmouth College as associate director of public relations for the Amos Tuck School of Business.

Van Ostern was Jeanne Shaheen's communications director when she was governor and headed communications for John Edwards' New Hampshire presidential campaign in 2004.

Van Ostern said he has known Kuster for several years from her work on behalf of a woman's right to choose and for John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008.

"She is displaying the same energy and enthusiasm as a candidate as she did in making progress on issues she cares about," Van Ostern said.

He said that from her work outside of politics as an adoption attorney and on various non-profits' boards, "I have really been impressed by the number of people who know her," not just in her home city of Concord but throughout the district. "She has stepped in and helped so many people in many different ways."

Predictably, he predicted Kuster "will be our next congresswoman" from the 2nd District.

GETTING READY. Since we first reported back in February that Kuster's fellow Democrat Katrina Swett would become a candidate for the 2nd District U.S. House seat, she has been busy running the Lantos Foundation, teaching at Tufts University and with other projects.

But she has never taken her eye off the political ball. She has recently hired her first campaign staffer, Meagan Coffman, and said yesterday she will file papers for an exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission within the next three to six weeks.

She said she will probably make a final decision on whether to run by the end of the year, but she is "reluctant to pin myself down" to a timetable.

"It's increasingly likely that I will run," she said.

State Rep. John DeJoie, D-Concord, is also gearing up to run for the 2nd District seat. He recently formed an official campaign committee and told supporters in an e-mail, "I am currently running to be the next congressman."

A NEW REPUBLICAN. Frank Guinta and Bob Bestani may soon have company in the 1st District U.S. House GOP primary race.

Mike Castaldo of Dover, a former U.S. Marine lance corporal and former volunteer for the anti-poverty group One.org, says in an op-ed today that he is forming an exploratory committee "and will spend the next several weeks bringing my message of grass roots conservative reform to every corner of the 1st District to see if it resonates."

Castaldo, who works as a cook in a Seacoast area restaurant, says the candidates involved in the race so far don't speak for him.

A self-described "proud conservative," Castaldo says that "it is time for the Republican Party to stop being represented by candidates chosen by out-of-touch party bosses and their special interests."

PUMPED. Between Ted Gatsas' sweep of all wards in Manchester in the Tuesday night mayoral primary and a new poll showing former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte leading Rep. Paul Hodes in an early look at a potential U.S. Senate general election match-up, Republicans this morning are pumped.

Rasmussen Reports surveyed 500 likely voters on Monday and found Ayotte leading Hodes 46 to 38 percent with 12 percent undecided. Each candidate receives 81 percent of the vote from his or her own party, but according to Rasmussen, Ayotte leads by 14 percent among undeclared likely voters.

►Click here to view the Rasmussen Reports poll.

State GOP Chair John H. Sununu said two developments show his party is "making progress" and is "committed to an overwhelming GOP victory in 2010.

"Voters are beginning to understand that the Democrats are ruining New Hampshire and bankrupting America," Sununu said.

The poll also indicated Granite Staters are closely divided on health care reform and on approval/disapproval of President Barack Obama.

But it shows Gov. John Lynch with a strong (66 percent) approval rating.

State Democratic Chair Raymond Buckley said Gatsas received 45 percent of the vote "after spending over $100,000. That is nothing to crow about.

"It's funny how Sununu fails to mention (Lynch's approval rating) and that each day it is more doubtful that Kelly Ayotte is his nominee. Sununu's hysterical rants are sounding more like a tea bag protester than a serious party leader," said Buckley.

GOOD FOR KELLY. The entrance of state Republican National Committee member Sean Mahoney into the GOP Senate mix could bode well for Ayotte.

While it's difficult to analyze a race that doesn't have any announced candidates in it yet, it's logical to assume Ayotte will benefit from having two hard-line conservatives, Mahoney and Manchester attorney Ovide Lamontagne, vying for support from the right.

THAT FINANCE REPORT. The next big thing for Ayotte will be the third-quarter financial reports, expected to be made public in mid-October. Lamontagne and Mahoney have not yet set up a fund-raising committees.

One seasoned Republican says that if she does well, which this person says would mean raising between $300,000 and $500,000, "she could have this (primary) wrapped up by Christmas."

And as the pick of Texas Sen. John Cornyn and the Senate GOP leadership, she will have 40 Republican candidates writing checks for her, not to mention her take in next Tuesday's big fund-raiser at the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

►Click here to view the Rasmussen Reports poll.

WHY NOT GOVERNOR? Some conservative Republicans, understanding the importance of a strong and well-heeled ticker topper, wish Mahoney would run for governor.

"I was hoping maybe he'd take a look at that instead," said state Rep. Fran Wendelboe, who heads the conservative Reagan Network.

She called Mahoney "a great conservative," but said that as a member of the party's executive committee, she is not endorsing any of the three potential candidates for the Senate.

But open U.S. Senate seats don't come along very often, maybe once in a generation, so if you're Mahoney or Lamontagne, why not go for it instead of taking on the still-popular governor?

REMEMBER BRUCE? John H. Sununu hasn't given up on Bruce Keough. We understand he has privately told Republicans he wishes the Dublin businessman would run against Lynch next year. He has spoken to many Republicans about the governor's race, in fact.

What about Jeb Bradley? He's happy to be back to his legislative roots in the state Senate and it's unlikely he will run for governor next year, but 2012 may be a different story unless a Republican happens to be the incumbent by then.

CHARLIE'S THING. Charlie Bass is looking closely at 2010 and said this week that while a U.S. Senate run "is an option," he is "leaning toward" running again for his old 2nd District House seat.

"I'm in no hurry to make a decision," he said. "There are other things that are occupying a significant amount of my time. I have to work through those issues and decide whether being back in public life is a good idea."

AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'. Some Republicans smiled at Rep. Carol Shea-Porter's quoted remarks at Sunday's Strafford County Democratic Committee picnic.

According to Foster's Daily Democrat, Shea-Porter expressed disgust over how some Republican House members acted during Obama's health care speech to Congress on Sept. 9. Some booed and Rep. Joe Wilson, as has been well-documented, shouted "You lie!" to Obama at one point.

"They were behaving in a way we never behave," Shea-Porter was quoted as saying.

She said even when Democrats disagreed with former President George W. Bush, "We sat there quietly and politely because that's what we owe the President of the United States."

Some recalled that back in 2005 before she was in Congress, Shea-Porter was removed from a Bush event in Portsmouth allegedly for being disruptive. News reports at the time, however, said she was booted simply for wearing a "Turn Your Back on Bush" T-shirt.

"The issue I have is her hypocrisy," said her old friend, state Senator and former U.S. Rep. Bradley.

He said that when she attended many of his town hall meetings while he was in Congress, "She was always confrontational, which was her right to do.

"Any member of Congress should be willing to face their critics," Bradley said. "And now she is running and hiding with lotteries for who can ask questions at her town halls. That's not good for America."

CALLING OUT KELLY. Hodes called out Ayotte yesterday on the question of privatizing Medicare.

At a GOP event in Laconia last week, Ayotte was asked if she agreed with Sarah Palin's call for Medicare privatization in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.

She said she had not read the Palin piece, and, "I don't know if I would take a position right now on privatizing it, but certainly it is on a path right now that we can't sustain."

She said the problems of Medicare "points out the flaws with turning over a public option in the health care system" because it would cost $1 trillion while "we can't sustain Medicare" and said the cost of health care should be addressed "before we're enacting another entitlement that we can't fund."

Hodes called us to say Ayotte should take a position one way or another, and "privatizing Medicare is one of the worst ideas I've ever heard" because it will drive up costs.

"While Medicare needs to be reformed, it does not need to be privatized," he said. He said the administrative costs of government-run Medicare are "very low compared to the administrative costs of private insurance.

"We're engaged in a serious debate on the reform of the health care system, including serious proposals to reform Medicare and I'd expect that any serious candidate for public office would think that through and have a position on health care reform including Medicare reform. It's time for specifics," Hodes said.

Ayotte spokesman Brooks Kochvar said that in fact, Ayotte opposes privatizing Medicare.

He said Hodes wants to impose a costly government-run health care system, while, "Even some moderate and liberal Democrats in the Senate have expressed concerns over these new taxes and cuts to Medicare, but Paul Hodes continues to march in lockstep with these plans."

Ayotte said in a statement that the Democratic bill introduced in the Senate yesterday "cuts Medicare by nearly a half-trillion dollars, and it puts massive new tax burdens on families and small businesses to create yet another trillion-dollar government program."

MULTIPLE MANNINGS. The State Employees Association has no problem with the father-and-son combination on the other side.

Colin Manning, the governor's press secretary, is Lynch's mouthpiece when it comes to commenting on negotiations and talking about layoffs, furloughs and the like.

His father, Tom Manning, is the chief negotiator for the state.

"I'm told that the father and son have an agreement that they won't discuss what happens at the negotiating table," said SEA spokesman Mike Barwell. "It is what it is. It's a small state.

"If we had any inclination that there was anything nefarious about this, when we would raise an objection," he said. "But we don't think there is anything nefarious."

Lynch deputy chief of staff Pam Walsh said Tom Manning meets with Lynch and his staff to discuss negotiations while Colin Manning answer media questions about it.

"There is no conflict, real or perceived," she said.

LEE STEPS DOWN. About two weeks after he complained on the national Daily Kos Web site about the way state Democratic Party leaders are dividing contributions between the federal and non-federal accounts, Merrimack County Democratic Chairman Alex Lee resigned the post yesterday.

Also resigning was county vice chair Brenda MacLellan.

In his resignation letter, Lee said he leaves "with a tremendous sigh of relief.

"May the chattering and muttering begin. I wish the remaining members of the committee luck in their fund-raising efforts," Lee wrote.

Party sources say there will be an effort to recruit former county chair Rob Werner back to the position.

RATH ON THE COMMITTEE. A bit of presidential primary news here.

Former state RNC member Tom Rath is now a member of the national party's Temporary Delegate Selection Committee, which is trying to figure out a way to alleviate "front-loading" in the 2012 primary/caucus schedule.

Rath said the next meeting is Sept. 28. He also said that the committee's charge is to focus on the order of delegate selection events after New Hampshire's primary.

The party rule that created the delegate selection committee guarantees New Hampshire and South Carolina spots ahead of the pack. It does not address Iowa since its caucus-goers do not directly select delegates. That is done later through a complex process.

JOHN'S DAY. Tomorrow is John Kacavas' big day. The Manchester attorney will be sworn in as the U.S. attorney for New Hampshire at the Warren B. Rudman Couthouse in Concord.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph LaPlante will administer the oath, with remarks by Sen. Shaheen and state Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick.

John DiStaso is senior political reporter of the New Hampshire Union Leader.