News · Press Release · The Case Against

The Case Against Matt Mowers

“In his first term in Congress, Congressman Chris Pappas has brought his New Hampshire values to Washington as he works across the aisle to deliver COVID-19 relief to Granite Staters and fights for small businesses and veterans. His focus on the issues that matter to Granite Staters is a testament to his lifelong New Hampshire roots, which taught him the value of putting partisanship aside to get things done. Meanwhile, New Jersey political operative and Washington homeowner Matt Mowers’ extreme partisanship, blind loyalty to Trump, and blatant political opportunism in moving to New Hampshire just to run for office make him exactly the wrong person to represent New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District.” – DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos

To: Interested Parties
From: Sarah Guggenheimer, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: September 8, 2020
Subject: The Case Against Matt Mowers

Congressman Chris Pappas is New Hampshire personified. A lifelong Granite Stater, Chris learned the value of hard work at a young age and has spent his life working in service to others – whether it’s by serving ice cream at the Puritan Backroom – his family’s 102 year old Manchester restaurant – or effectively representing New Hampshire in Congress.

In his first term in Congress, Pappas has already established himself as an adept lawmaker who will always put his constituents ahead of the partisan politics that consumes so much of Washington. That’s why in Congress he’s worked across the aisle to advocate for Granite Staters – introducing 16 bills with Republican co-leads, helping to pass nearly 300 bipartisan bills in the House, and co-sponsoring six Republican bills that were signed into law. His bipartisan work to restore $37.8 million in federal funding for New Hampshire’s transportation needs, return $100 million to veterans who participated in the VA Home Loan Program, and improve and pass a bipartisan USMCA has directly helped New Hampshire residents, workers, and businesses. And his work during the COVID-19 pandemic to advocate for resources for New Hampshire’s state and local government and expand the benefits available to American small businesses and workers by improving the coordination between the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC).

Pappas, with his New Hampshire-born and -bred work ethic and deep ties to his community, couldn’t be more different than out-of-state political opportunist Matt Mowers.

Mowers is a carpetbagging Trump loyalist who’s never found a situation he wouldn’t use to his own advantage. A New Jersey native who owns a home in DC, Mowers has neither the understanding nor the roots to represent the people of New Hampshire’s First Congressional District.

Mowers is a knee-jerk partisan who is so eager to do whatever his party leaders tell him that he went so far as to change how he pronounces his own name after President Trump mispronounced it. On top of that, Mowers proposes a radical health care agenda that would repeal health care coverage for Granite Staters with pre-existing conditions and has strong ties to corrupt New Jersey politicians – and was even implicated in Chris Christie’s Bridgegate scandal.

Mowers may think he understands New Hampshire because of a 12 month stint working on Chris Christie’s presidential campaign, but he’s soon to learn that there’s a big difference between knowing how to pronounce Kancamagus and knowing the district.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

HEADLINE: Pappas helps restore to NH $37.8M in federal transportation money [Union Leader, 11/26/19]

HEADLINE: Rep. Pappas submits bill to protect remote NH workers from Mass. income tax [Union Leader, 8/7/20]

HEADLINE: Hooksett business thanks Pappas for PPP support

“I was hesitant because I’ve never reached out for help before, but I was overwhelmed by the response I got,” he said. “I’ve never been big on getting government help, but this time government help saved our family business.” [Manchester Ink Link, 7/16/20]

HEADLINE: Letter: Chris Pappas came to our rescue when COVID-19 left us stranded [Seacoast Online, 7/1/20]

“Exporting Mowers to New Hampshire was all part of a plan to help Christie get a foothold into the first-in-the-nation primary two years early.” [New Jersey Globe, 4/17/20]

HEADLINE: Bridgegate: Where Are They Now?

[Mowers] also set up a grid, years before Christie’s re-election date, tracking goodies handed out to “Dem Targets,” as he called them, including pieces of burnt steel from the World Trade Center site and tickets to Giants and Jets games in the governor’s box. [WNYC, 3/28/17]

Matt Mowers: Out of State and Out of Touch

MATT MOWERS IS A CARPETBAGGER

Matt Mowers’ claims that he understands New Hampshire are somehow even more pathetic than Scott Brown’s tall tales in his embarrassing 2014 Senate campaign. A born and raised New Jerseyan, Mowers’ main connection to New Hampshire is working at the behest of his traffic-stopping boss Chris Christie, first as the New Hampshire Republican Party’s Chief Hack and then for Christie’s short-lived presidential campaign before high-tailing it back to his home in D.C. In fact, Chris Christie described Mowers as “the guy who knows more about New Hampshire than any guy from New Jersey I’ve ever met in my life…” But Mower’s connections to anywhere but New Hampshire don’t stop there! Mowers owns prime real estate in Washington, DC – but doesn’t own a home in New Hampshire.

With all of these out-of-state ties, it’s no wonder out-of-state special interests have been funding Mowers’ campaign – as the New Jersey Globe reported: “New Jersey goes big for Mowers’ New Hampshire campaign

Mowers’ ties to the Granite State are so limited he hasn’t even lived in the state long enough to run for state office.

His tenuous connections to the Granite State matter. If the only ties he has to New Hampshire are largely based on his own political opportunism and partisanship – how on earth could he actually know what matters to voters?

Chris Pappas’ New Hampshire values are the reason he’s been such a productive member of Congress as he fights for the Granite State. From his fight for clean water and PFAS regulation to his work preserving highway exit numbers, Granite Staters know they can count on Pappas to look out for them.

MOWERS WANTS TO BRING HYPER-PARTISANSHIP TO NEW HAMPSHIRE

Mowers might not know this because he’s not from New Hampshire, but Granite Staters have no time for his brand of blanket partisanship. Not only has Mowers followed national Republican talking points to a T, but he’s willing to go to astounding lengths to do whatever Washington Republicans want – even if that means ripping away health care from thousands of Granite Staters or cutting Social Security benefits for New Hampshire seniors.

But that’s not the only instance of Mowers willfully following Trump. Mowers encouraged and accepted an endorsement of Trump that came with aid from the RNC even as local New Hampshire Republicans spoke out against what they viewed as blatant election rigging. New Hampshire RNC Committeewoman Julia Bergeron put it plainly when she refused to sign off on letting the RNC favor Mowers before the primary: “New Hampshire has held the First-in-the- Nation Primary for 100 years. Why would we even consider jeopardizing the FITN Primary along with our honor by signing off on Rule 11?”

Pappas puts his constituents over partisanship and has a record of working across the aisle to deliver results, most recently with his bipartisan legislation to better coordinate PPP loans with the Employee Retention Tax Credit so that New Hampshire small businesses can get the support they need.

MOWERS’ HEALTH CARE AGENDA IS TOO EXTREME

Mower’s blind partisanship comes in many forms but perhaps nowhere is it more dangerous than with his views on health care.

Standing in lockstep with President Trump and Washington Republicans, Mowers is running to continue their dangerous agenda of ripping health care away from Granite Staters, gutting protections for pre-existing conditions, and instituting an Age Tax for his would-be constituents.

Mowers went so far as to call the Affordable Care Act “terrible” and came out against expanded Medicaid that provides 50,000 Granite Staters with the coverage they need.

When it comes to reproductive rights, he’s also in support of a total ban on abortions with no exceptions for cases rape or incest, and oversaw the New Hampshire Republican Party when they added support for passing a ‘fetal personhood’ law to their state party platform.

Mowers can run but he can’t hide from his reckless and extreme health care agenda which caters to Trump’s agenda – not Granite Staters.

Unlike Mowers, Pappas has been a stalwart defender of health care in New Hampshire, casting crucial votes to protect coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and lower health care and prescription drug costs. And in his time on the New Hampshire Executive Council he stood up for a woman’s right to choose and expanded health care access, leading the fight to restore funding for family planning services and cancer screenings for more than 13,000 Granite Staters, and implementing the state’s Medicaid expansion program, which now insures more than 53,000 Granite Staters and has been a key tool in combating the opioid epidemic.

That’s the New Hampshire style leadership voters are looking for.

PATH TO VICTORY

New Jersyan Matt Mowers is entering a general election in a state he barely knows and doesn’t understand, facing a homegrown Chris Pappas who’s brought his New Hampshire values with him to Washington, putting people over politics.

Pappas has defined himself as someone focused on the issues people care about most: small businesses, veterans, and affordable health care and has been a leader Granite Staters can rely on during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He’s also entering the general election leading Mowers in cash on hand $1.5 million to $373k.

In 2018, Pappas won this seat by consolidating Democrats and expanding support with Unaffiliated and Republican voters, winning towns that hadn’t voted for a Democrat in generations. In 2020, he’s primed to do it again.

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