Young Gun Guinta

Frank Guinta, the 1st District congressional candidate who is campaigning full-time after finishing his term as Manchester mayor, announced a speaking tour that kicks off Jan. 21 and ends with the opening of his Manchester campaign office March 11. There will be town hall meetings in Bedford, Conway, Dover, Rochester, Londonderry and Wolfeboro, with 60 stops in 39 towns over seven weeks, said spokeswoman Alicia Preston.

The tour could forestall criticism that Guinta is a “Washington candidate.” Guinta has been getting Washington help as a contender for the House Republican “Young Gun” program, founded in 2007 by Republican Congressmen Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy and Paul Ryan to help U.S. House candidates. National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Greg Blair said becoming a Young Gun is a three-step process with benchmarks for fundraising, campaign structure and media. Guinta reached the first level in July and is now among 13 “contenders” who have reached the second level – “a pretty exclusive, small and well-groomed group,” Blair said.

The amount of fundraising help a candidate gets is decided on a case-by-case basis, Blair said.