Friends of Senate District 16 Democratic candidate Kathleen Kelley are spreading false rumors about Republican Sen. David Boutin. It is shameful and telling. They suggest that Boutin supports a private prison in Manchester. He does not and never has.

Manchester alderman Patrick Arnold, one of the rumor spreaders, defended his sleight of hand by repeating it in this newspaper. That says a lot more about Arnold than Boutin. It also says a lot about Kelley's supporters that they would rather confuse the voters than talk up their candidate. Voters in Manchester Wards 1, 2 and 12 should not reward such behavior

Voters in Senate District 12 have an excellent senator in Jim Luther, R-Hollis. He has been a strong advocate in the Senate for fiscal responsibility, which his predecessor and current opponent, Peggy Gilmour, D-Hollis, was not. Both candidates have strong business backgrounds, but only Luther transformed his business acumen into responsible policy-making.

That must be why Gilmour is following the Democratic Party playbook and trying to distract the voters by bringing up abortion. She would rather talk about that than the fact that she voted for an irresponsible budget that raised taxes, raised spending and borrowed money to pay for operating expenses. That behavior was a big reason why voters elected Luther. If they elect Gilmour again, we could be back in the mess Luther was sent to Concord to help clean up.