Dante Scala

Several New Hampshire political analysts have offered their predictions for Election Day.

All the analysts cited say the Democrats are poised to win the congressional races in New Hampshire and will keep control of the State House.

DENVER-Dr. Dante Scala, UNH professor and PolitickerNH.com columnist, said the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) as a running mate a "smart risk."

"It's not a safe pick," Scala said. "Tim Pawlenty would have been a safe pick, Mitt Romney would have been a safer pick but it's a risk."

New Hampshire political analysts are unsure has to the impact that Barack Obama's decision to have Joe Biden as his running-mate will have in the Granite State.

Dean Spiliotes, political analyst at NHPoliticalCapital.com, says Biden could help with independent voters, while Dante Scala, political professor at University of New Hampshire, thinks Biden will unify a generational divide in the Democratic Party.

Editors note: This is a daily summary of news about the U.S. Senate race between U.S. Sen. John Sununu (R-Waterville Valley) and former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D-Madbury).

Today in the Senate race it was all about op-eds and speeches.

I am proud to announce that Dante Scala, UNH political science professor and New Hampshire political numbers expert, is joining PolitickerNH.com as a regular contributor.

You can find his posts along the light orange contributor column to the right.

In addition to teaching, Scala is the author of the book "Stormy Weather: The New Hampshire Primary and Presidential Politics". It is a must read for anyone interested in New Hampshire politics.

For the past year he has also run the blog GraniteProf and before that write a popular column on PoliticsNH.com called "By the Numbers".

You can read his first column here.

One reason both campaigns might be running ads now is to get out their initial message, according to UNH professor Dante Scala.

"The window for running ads is about to close because of the summer, when most voters aren't paying attention to politics," Scala said. "So you run your ads now then tune-it-down until Labor Day."

Both ad buys on WMUR are relatively small. Bradley is airing his thirty-second ad from May 12-May 22 for $47,150, while Shaheen's ad is airing from May 20-May 26 for $93,000.

Though the ads are local they appeal to national donors who both campaigns will look towards for financial support.