[img_assist|nid=415|title=Kate Whitman and Craig Annis' twin sons, John and Clayton|desc=|link=none|align=none|width=420|height=280]
New Jersey congressional candidate Kate Whitman only lived in New Hampshire for about eight months, but she met the love of her life there.

In 2002, the then-24-year-old Whitman – the daughter of former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman and scion of a political dynasty going back a century -- came to New Hampshire to cut her political teeth on the Republican primary campaign of Craig Benson.

“The primary was very, very contentious. It was very close,” said Whitman, who worked a spokesperson. “I was thrown into the fire, and I think that was a great way to learn.”

Craig Annis, then 27, was already a veteran political operative. The New Hampshire native served as Chief of Staff for former Manchester Mayor Ray Wieczorek, and at the time was working as chief-of-staff to state Sen. Ted Gatsas.

What better place for two young, politically active people to form a lasting romance than The Granite State?

The world of New Hampshire politics is small enough that there are never many degrees of separation between those involved in it. Whitman and Annis had seen each other on the campaign trail, but had never been formally introduced. Not, anyway, until their mutual friend Matt Mayberry, a Republican activist, decided to play matchmaker.

"I thought to myself I can see these two working out since they both have strong personalities,” said Mayberry.

Without telling her what he planned, Mayberry arranged to have drinks with Whitman one evening at JD’s Tavern in Manchester. He told an unwitting Annis to meet him there an hour later.

After a couple cocktails, a relationship was born.

“More than one apple martini helped facilitate the relationship,” said Mayberry.

The couple’s first formal date took place at Manchester’s Puritan Backroom Restaurant – a place known more for forging political relationships than romantic ones.

Meeting a girlfriend’s mother for the first time is already a harrowing experience, and it didn’t help that Christie Whitman headed up the Environmental Protection Agency at the time. Annis arrived late to meet the Whitmans for dinner, walking nonchalantly into the private room where they were dining. He was surprised to be shoved back by a security guard.

“I don’t think that was the best way to meet my mother,” said Whitman.

Whitman worked a couple months as communications director for the New Hampshire Republican Party. The couple then moved to Washington, DC, where Whitman worked as communications director for former Rep. Chris Cox [R-CA], a white house staffer, press secretary for Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and as Executive Director of the Republican Leadership Council, which was founded by her mother. Annis worked as a lobbyist.

After dating a year and a half, Annis proposed to Whitman on a beach near her cousin’s Hamptons home. They were married just three months later in New Jersey, where they settled and, in 2005, had twin boys.

Now Annis, who works in government relations for Mars, Inc., is playing the role of supportive husband as Whitman makes her second-ever try for elected office. She’s shooting for Congress in New Jersey’s seventh district as one of the more high profile candidates in a primary with seven other hopefuls. Her experience in New Hampshire, she said, helped her get there.

“I had a great time up there,” said Whitman. “People are generally aware of what’s going on in their own state, and I think part of that is because it’s so small. You run into people who have met every single primary candidate for the past 60 years, which is pretty amazing.”