Clinton snags top N.H. political operative

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign has snagged one of New Hampshire’s top political operatives.

Bill Shaheen, husband of former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, will serve as co-chairman of Clinton’s New Hampshire campaign.

“I am supporting Hillary because I trust her, because she’s honest and intelligent,” Shaheen said in an e-mail sent to Clinton supporters. “She has the experience, wisdom and courage we desperately need in our next president. She has faced the toughest tests time and time again, and she has always remained true to herself, emerging stronger and more prepared to handle the challenges that come her way.”

Shaheen, who held the same title in Al Gore’s and John Kerry’s presidential campaigns, did not return calls from The Associated Press.

In 2004, Shaheen joined Kerry’s campaign several months ahead of his wife, who later was named national chairwoman. The pair largely was credited with Kerry’s come-from-behind win in that year’s New Hampshire presidential primary.

Still unknown is whether the former governor will sign on with Clinton. Now director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, she has said she hasn’t ruled out challenging Sen. John Sununu in 2008. The three-term governor lost to Sununu in 2002.