Sununu appearance with McCain has more pros than cons, analysts say

With less than two days to go before Election Day, U.S. Sen. John Sununu (R-Waterville Valley) will be attending John McCain's town hall forum in Peterborough.

Political analysts agree that Sununu's appearance has more upsides than downsides, despite polls that show Sununu running better in his re-election race than McCain is in the presidential race in New Hampshire.

According to the UNH/WMUR tracking poll Sununu trails his opponent, former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D-Madbury), by five percentage points, while McCain is losing to Barack Obama by 11 points.

McCain is scheduled to hold his last town hall forum at the Peterborough Town Hall, the exact same place where he held a town hall meeting before the New Hampshire primary.

Wayne Lesperance, political science professor at New England College, said that the appearance is two-fold for Sununu. The event helps Sununu rally the Republican base and continues Sununu's message that he is an independent voice for New Hampshire.

"I think that Sununu's success depends a great deal on John McCain's success in New Hampshire," Lesperance said. "Whether John McCain takes New Hampshire or not, they both are hoping for very big turnout from the base and from independents who might want to go for a Republican candidate."

According to Lesperance the event also helps to "continue the narrative that both men have broken with their party when they needed to, they've both been political mavericks at times, so there's some linkage there."

Dante Scala, professor at UNH-Durham and a columnist for PolitickerNH.com, also said that the event will help rally Republicans before Election Day.

"It's probably not the best territory for him to pick-up votes but it's probably the last chance to get everyone together and excite the base about Tuesday. It's not necessarily a wasted trip," Scala said.

Scala said that appearing with McCain has little downside for Sununu.

"What we're seeing is the polls is that the Republican base is finally coming together for the Republican ticket so a display of unity at this point I don't think does him any harm," Scala said. "Appearing with McCain isn't going to harm Sununu."

Lesperance questioned the event venue and whether or not it is a good use of McCain's time.

"For me Peterborough was an odd choice in terms of the number of people you can get access to in a single event, that's not your best choice. With that said it's a place where McCain's been to before, he's comfortable in and to some extend that's the goal here," Lesperance added. " But if I was planning the event I'd try to put as many people in the room as possible so I'm not sure that it's the best use of his time."

Stefani Zimmerman, Sununu's press secretary, said the event allows Sununu to continue campaigning "town to town, person to person."

"Senator Sununu will continue his town to town, person to person campaign throughout New Hampshire and he looks forward to campaigning in the Granite State with our next President, Senator John McCain," Zimmerman said in a statement.