Former New Hampshire US Senate candidate Ovide Lamontagne said Friday morning he plans to make an endorsement in the upcoming GOP presidential primary, but the Republican won’t say who is getting his support yet. “My intention is to get involved in this primary,” Lamontagne said on a conference call with reporters. “I think this election, in terms of a presidential election, is the most important in my lifetime.”
Lamontagne formed a Political Action Committee (PAC) last year, through which he and his wife have hosted receptions for presidential candidates at their home. They will be hosting their sixth candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, Friday evening.
Lamontagne narrowly lost the GOP primary in 2010 to now-Sen. Kelly Ayotte. He remains a force within statewide politics.
(Romney skipping Iowa straw poll)
Lamontagne wants the presidential candidates to find a way to use Monday night’s New Hampshire debate to present their plans to fix the Obama administration’s use of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and National Mediation Board (NMB) as “independent agency” fronts for the administrative labor union agenda. In his Friday conference call, Lamontagne said his endorsement will hinge on several issues, but how the candidate would deal with agencies like the NLRB and NMB will definitely be a factor.
“I think this [the NLRB and NMB agendas] is not just an overregulation issue,” Lamontagne said. “It’s a federalist issue. We have a federal government trying to interfere and affect the policy of a state. I don’t think there’s any doubt that part of the motivation of this NLRB action [against Boeing for opening a new plant in South Carolina] is to send a shot across the bow of the states of this country that have right-to-work.”
Monday’s debate, hosted by CNN’s John King, begins at 8 p.m. ET. Candidates who have confirmed participation include Herman Cain, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Reps. Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann.